Friends, Enemies and Excuses
by konstantine9
Summary: Lily thinks Grace is gay. Grace thinks it’s crazy, Russel thinks it’s hilarious, Jessie thinks it’s great, Tad thinks it’s hot, and Katie thinks she never should have agreed to that.
1. Chapter 1

**Grace's POV**

"Jessie, come on!"

Why did I have the feeling that I had spent my whole life waiting for my stepsister to get out of the bathroom? Oh, I know. Because that was what I had been doing every morning since the day she had moved in with us.

They say you can't choose your family and that's too bad. Because if I could, none of my family members would have been there. Especially not Jessie. It's not that I didn't like Jessie, because everybody liked Jessie. She was the kind of person you couldn't hate, and that's exactly why I couldn't stand her. As soon as Jessie had moved in with us, right after her dad had married my mom, I felt threatened by her. But who could blame me? She was all cute with her long blond hair and her big blue eyes, as kind and sweet as a lamb, and brilliant in everything she did, either in class, sports or singing. Me? Well, sure I was a good student and I was pretty good at soccer, but I wasn't cute, or sweet, or kind, no matter what my mom could say. So I couldn't possibly compete with Perfect Jessie whom everybody loved and admired. And it had only taken one week for her to be the most popular girl in school without even trying. She had just shown her pretty face and that had been enough to make everybody crazy about her. But I didn't care. Because when I saw how being so perfect made Jessie the centre of everyone's attentions, and that her parents, her teachers, and even my mom always expected something from her, I was kinda glad just to be Grace Manning and not Jessie Sammler. But the weird thing was that Jessie didn't seem to be very happy to be Jessie Sammler either. Nobody saw it, but I could see right through that bright smile of hers, and see that all she wanted to do was to disappear. I guess I could have helped her, made her talk to me, but all I did was to be even more of a bitch to her. Maybe that was because deep down I was jealous, I don't know. But I guess the fact she started dating Tad didn't help either. I'd had a crush on Tad for months but he was completely oblivious. And then he had met Jessie and two weeks later, they had become the most popular couple in school, even though she didn't seem to be remotely interested in him. At first I thought she had done it just to piss me off but anyone who knew Jessie knew very well that she couldn't possibly want to piss someone off, not even me. But then when I had seen them together, when I had seen the look in her dad's eyes, and later in her mom's, I had realized why Jessie was with Tad: because that was exactly what she was supposed to do. A girl like Jessie was supposed to date a handsome boy, captain of the basketball team, the kind of guy you see on TV wearing those awful varsity jackets. And Tad was exactly that kind of guy. And that's was all Jessie's parents needed to be happy. But was Jessie happy? Nobody knew. But if she wasn't, she never let it show. She always seemed happy, smiling all the time and showing so much PDA for Tad that it was almost gross.

But in the end, I didn't care. I had other things on my mind. More like someone on my mind. Because if I was so excited to go to school that morning, it wasn't because of the food cafeteria. And that didn't go unnoticed to my mum.

"You've still got time," she said, emerging from the kitchen with a cup of coffee in her hand. "Why are you in such a rush?"

"I'm just sick of waiting for her every morning!" I said, my eyes fixed on the top of the stairs as I felt hers watching me.

"Is there someone waiting for you?" my mum asked, trying to sound casual.

"Mum," I said in a tone teenagers only use when they talk to their parents.

With that I added a few more insults to Jessie's attention and my mum retreated back to the kitchen.

After what felt like an eternity, Jessie strolled down the stairs, a big smile on her face, and completely ignoring my death glare.

"Have a nice day, girls," my mum said from the kitchen.

"Bye," Jessie shouted back as she went out the door and I mumbled a 'goodbye'.

Once in the car, none of us spoke, just like every morning.

"You look nervous," Jessie said, breaking the silence.

"Nervous? Why would I be nervous? What makes you think I'm nervous?"

"The fact that you're driving thirty miles over the speed limit and the fact that you look at your watch every ten seconds," she answered, looking out the window.

Why couldn't she be dumb, just like any other blond girl?

I shrugged but she wasn't even looking at me. She didn't say anything else for the rest of the ride, probably thinking that she had shown enough interest in me for the rest of the day.

Every morning, there was this weird thing happening as soon as we would get to school. Dozens of students would surround us and talk all at the same time and ask hundreds of questions. All this not for my pretty eyes but for Jessie's who would just smile and nod or even throw a little compliment for the luckiest among them. I always admired the patience she had in those moments. If it had been me, I would have told them to go to hell and have a life. But then again, it wasn't me, and Jessie was showing how perfect she was, just like every morning. Of course, it would be before she saw a suspicious jacket at the end of the hallway. After that she would just ignore everybody and run and jump into Tad's arms, wrapping her legs around his waist. Everybody would be in awe at how perfect they looked; everybody but me who would just roll my eyes. That morning was no exception, until I remembered why I had woken up in the first place.

As usual, I was the first one in class.

"Oh, hello, Grace," Mr Dimitri said as I took a seat in the first raw, right in front of his desk.

"Hi," I said, blushing.

I always blushed when he said my name.

"Have you read the book I lent you?" he asked without looking up from his work.

"Five times."

He stopped what he was doing and finally looked up at me. And just like every time, we just stared into each other's eyes without even blinking. That was, of course, before all the other students entered the classroom.

"Right," he said, shaking his head and getting up. "Good morning, everyone. Before we start, I'd like to remind you that the Gay-Straight Alliance will take place tonight at my house and I hope to see you there."

And he threw a last glance in my direction before beginning his class.


	2. Chapter 2

**Jessie's POV**

"Guess who?" someone said, covering my eyes while I was at my locker.

I sighed. He was never sick of this little game. Too bad.

"Tad," I said flatly.

He took his hands off and leaned against the locker next to mine.

"How was your day?" he asked, smiling.

"Fantastic," I answered sarcastically.

He laughed and I couldn't help but chuckle. He could never see when I was making fun of him. It was a good and a bad thing.

"Let's go," I said as I closed my locker.

"I can't babe. I have practice today."

"But it's Monday. You never have practice on Mondays."

"Except for today. We have a big game this weekend. I told you yesterday, remember?"

It's funny how my brain just stopped working every time I would hear the word "basketball".

Of course, if Tad couldn't drive me home, it only meant one thing.

"Grace will give you a ride home," he said, giving me a peck on the lips as if my pout was due to the fact I wasn't going to see him. "I'll drop by your house after practice, okay?"

"Okay."

He dropped another kiss on my lips and as he was about to pull away I grabbed him by his jacket and kissed him more passionately.

I don't why, I always felt like I had to do that kind of things when we were in public. Maybe it was because it was what people expected us to do, with us being the most popular couple in school. Because Tad and I were Upton Sinclair's Brangelina, and everybody would know about our every fights and make ups. But in reality Tad had more acne than Brad, and I wasn't planning on adopting the whole world, but it was how everybody saw us, so it was how we would behave.

* * *

Grace was checking herself up in a pocket mirror when I found her by her locker.

"What are you doing?" I asked her, finding the vision rather unusual and scary.

I mean, Grace wasn't the kind of girl who would pay attention to her look. She was the kind of girl who didn't care what other people thought about her, and I envied her for that. Of course, there was no way I would tell her that.

She jumped with fright and put the mirror back in her locker.

"What do you want?" she asked in that tone that only was reserved for me.

"Tad's got practice. I'm going home with you."

"Can't. I'm going to Mr Dimitri's."

"What are you going to do at Mr Dimitri's?"

"Gay-Straight Alliance meeting."

I sighed.

"And how am I supposed to go home?"

It was weird how Grace was the only person in the whole world I couldn't be nice to. I mean, I had always been a sweet girl, that was what everybody always said, but there was just something about Grace. Maybe it was because I knew she hated me. At first I had tried so hard to make her like, but after I realised it was hopeless, I just told myself that if she was a bitch to me, I would be a bitch to her. And it was like I was a completely different person when I was around her, and I hated it. I wanted us to get along so much, but I knew it would never happen.

"Easy," she said, closing her locker. "Either you go to Tad's practice or you're going to the meeting with me."

This was going to be a long night.

* * *

"I'm really glad you're all here,' Mr Dimitri said as we were sitting in his living room.

The place smelt like old books and was decorated with amazingly bad tastes. I felt like I was at my grandmother's.

The meeting was incredibly boring. They had decided to do a Gay-Straight Alliance dance and were going over every detail over and over. I couldn't help but chuckle when a guy named Russel said he was offended by the word "gay".

"Jessie, do you have something to say?" Mr Dimitri asked me.

Everyone's eyes fell on me, including Grace's and I swear if looks could kill, I would have dropped dead right then.

"No," I answered, straightening up in my seat. "It's just that we've been here for two hours and you've decided absolutely nothing."

There was a long pause before Mr Dimitri spoke up again.

"Well, maybe you have some ideas you'd like to share with us?"

"Me? Oh, no. I'm not part of the Alliance."

"Why are you here, then?"

"It was either that or Tad's basketball practice. And I'd rather be here. So imagine how much I hate basketball."

Everybody gasped at that, except someone who burst out laughing. They all turned to see who it was, including me, and I wasn't surprised to see who had done it.

"Katie," Mr Dimitri said. "May I know why you're here?"

Katie Singer stopped laughing.

Being the only openly gay girl in the whole school, it was pretty obvious why she would be here, but we all knew it wasn't the reason.

"Girls," she answered, as if it was obvious.

Everybody laughed at that, expect Grace who rolled her eyes, and Mr Dimitri who sighed. I for my part, wanted nothing but to get the hell out of there.

* * *

"I don't see why you're wasting your time with this," I said as we were driving home.

"Maybe because I want to help people!" Grace snapped. "It's called generosity. You should try one day."

"There's nothing generous about spending two hours debating over saying 'gay' or 'homosexual'".

Even if she was driving, Grace managed to shoot me one of her famous death glare.

I really didn't get why she was in this group. Grace wasn't the kind of person who wanted to save the world, but it looked like this Gay-Straight Alliance meant a lot to her.

"Maybe she feels concerned," Tad said as we were into my room that evening.

With the door opened, of course.

"What do you mean?"

"Well...you know."

"No, I don't."

"Maybe...Maybe she's gay."

I couldn't help but laugh at that.

"Grace? Gay? Are you crazy?"

"And why not? I mean, I've never seen her with a guy."

That was true, but I spent enough time seeing her flirt with Eli to know she wasn't gay.

"She had a crush on you," I told Tad.

"Really?"

"Yeah. When we were in the play. That was before you fell into my arms."

"Yeah, well, the fact she couldn't resist my charms doesn't mean she's not gay. She wouldn't be the only lesbian to be crazy about me."

"Really?"

"Actually, she would. But that feels kinda nice."

I laughed and dropped a kiss on his lips.

"There's nothing nice about it. Grace is not gay."

But what if she was?

What I didn't know was that I wasn't the only one wondering.


	3. Chapter 3

**Lily's POV**

I should have earned a medal. That's what I thought everytime I would have to face Grace. Sure, Grace didn't do drugs, she had never been arrested (except when Eli was involved), she had never gotten pregnant after getting drunk at a party, and she wasn't one of those kids who would dress in black and cut themselves, those had always freaked me out. In the end, Grace was everything a mother would have wanted in a daughter, and that's what all my friends would tell me: "You're so lucky to have a daughter like Grace!". And still, I had no idea how to talk to her. I knew how to talk to Zoe, I knew how to talk to Jessie, and I even knew how to talk to Eli, but I couldn't talk to Grace. So how was I supposed to talk to her about her homosexuality? Because maybe I wasn't the perfect mother, but I wasn't stupid. When I saw how much my daughter, who had never had a serious boyfriend, was into this Gay-Straight Alliance, I figured there was only one reason why.

So I chose a school night for my first approach. She was lying in her bed, reading a book when I found her.

"Can I come in?" I asked.

I wanted to act as innocent as possible but Grace had already seen right through me as she rolled her eyes. But I decided to ignore that and keep going.

"Jessie told me you guys went to the Gay-Straight Alliance," I added, sitting on the edge of her bed.

Grace suddenly closed her book and sighed.

"What do you want to know?" she asked.

See? That's exactly what I was talking about.

"Nothing," I answered quickly. "I just...How was it?"

"Okay. That was before Jessie had to ruin everything, of course."

"I think it's great that you guys do things together."

That wasn't the talk I had in mind but we were having an adult conversation, which wasn't that bad.

"Mom, Jessie and I don't do anything together. The only reason she was there was because Tad couldn't give her a ride home."

"And why were you there?"

As I expected, Grace decided to change the subject.

"Mom, it's late. Why do you always want to talk when I'm in bed?"

With that she yawned to make her point clear and I decided to drop it for the night, already planning my next approach.

* * *

"I don't see you're making such a big deal out of it," Rick said after I had spent the last hour tossing and turning in our bed.

"Please, Rick. You and I both know there's something going on. And tell me you're absolutely sure she's not gay."

The silence I got as an answer made me sigh before I started tossing even more.

"Okay, let's say she's gay," he said. "Would it be that bad?"

"Would it be that bad if Jessie was gay?"

I felt the bed shaking as he laughed softly.

"Don't be ridiculous," was all he said.

I suddenly felt like pushing him out of bed, mainly because I knew he was right. The idea of Jessie being gay was just impossible and I envied him for that. Why couldn't I have a daughter like Jessie? Why couldn't my daughter be the most popular girl in school and have the perfect boyfriend? I could deal with that!

"Fine, I admit it, the idea of my daughter being gay bothers me," I said as I sat up. "Does that make me a bad mother?"

"Of course not," Rick said as he took me in his arms. "Your reaction is perfectly natural. You just need some time to get used to all this."

Rick was probably the closest thing to the perfect man, but if there was one thing he couldn't do, it was finding the right words to comfort me. When I was anxious, there was noone who could soothe me, especially not Judy.

"I don't see what's the big deal," she said with her cool aunt tone as we sat at the kitchen table the day after that.

"I think you do."

"No, I don't. I mean, at least now you know she won't get pregnant."

"Exactly! I mean, sure it's a good thing now, but what about later? Does that mean I'll never be a grandmother?"

"You've still got Zoe. And Eli and Jessie."

"Yes, but Grace is my own daughter, and she's the eldest, you know?"

Judy just shrugged as if it was nothing. She could be so selfish sometimes!

"You're not sure about this, anyway," she said, reading my thoughts.

"Almost."

"Did you ask her?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"And how am I supposed to bring that up? 'Hey Grace, what's up? Oh, by the way, are you gay?'"

"Who's gay?"

It was always in those moments that Zoe decided to show up.

"Noone," I answered before Judy could open her big mouth.

"Mary-Agnes is gay," Zoe said as she opened the fridge and started rummaging through it.

"Zoe, we're having dinner in an hour," I said before getting up to close the fridge. "And who's Mary-Agnes?"

"A girl in my class."

Judy chuckled.

"And how old is she? Twelve? How can she know she's gay at twelve?"

"She says she's known since she was nine."

"And how did she know?" Judy asked, not ready to shut her big mouth.

I was getting sick of this conversation.

"The Little Mermaid," Zoe answered.

"What?" I asked, sure I had missed something.

"She says she knew when she saw the Little Mermaid. She was in love with Ariel."

"Who was in love with who?" Grace asked as she entered the kitchen and went to the fridge.

That was in those moments you knew they were sisters.

"Mary-Agnes is in love with the Little Mermaid," Judy answered, as if it made perfect sense.

"Grace, we're having dinner in..."

"I won't be here tonight," Grace cut me, and started to make herself a sandwich.

I threw a glance towards Judy who now seemed to find the conversation highly interesting.

"And where are you going?" I asked, trying to sound casual.

"Mr Dimitri is taking us the movies," she answered, as if it wasn't a big deal.

Grace was probably a great liar, but I was her mum, which means I was the only who could see when she was lying.

"Who's we?"

"Me and other students from my English class. Why are you asking me all those questions?"

"Because you never told me about this."

"Sure I did."

"No, you didn't."

"Well, I must have forgotten."

I threw a glance towards Judy once more to see that she looked like the cat that got the cream. She was going to ask her, I could feel it. My heart started to beat faster as I was trying to find a way to stop her. Thank God, Zoe was there.

"Mum, can I have a sandwich too?" she asked me.

"Right, as if I was going to ask you to come with me," Grace snickered.

With that she left the kitchen, eating her sandwich.

"Zoe, go set the table," I said as soon as Grace was out of earshot.

"Nooooooooo," she pleaded dramatically.

I shot her my most authoritative look, the one I only kept for emergencies, and Zoe understood.

"Oh my God," Judy breathed out when we were finally alone.

"So now you believe me? All those lies, this vague answers, this fake cool attitude...She's hiding something!"

Judy remained quiet for a while and I could see the wheels turning. Finally she turned towards me with wide eyes.

"Maybe she's going to meet her girlfriend!" she exclaimed as if she had just found a cure for cancer.

"Oh my God," I sighed, burying my head in my hands. "What am I gonna do?"

"No need to panic. Maybe it's nothing."

"Please!" I exclaimed. "You were there, you saw it, Grace's lying to me! She's lying to me because she's gay and she's afraid, that's why she's lying to me!"

"And I wonder why," Judy mumbled.

She had said it just loud enough for me to hear.

"Excuse me?" I asked, offended.

"You're acting as if it was a tragedy. But there's nothing wrong with having a gay daughter."

"Oh, shut up. Stop acting like the cool aunt and telling me how to raise my kids. We'll see when you get kids and one of them is gay. But for now, you don't have kids so stop telling what to do, okay?"

I had gone too far, and I saw it in her eyes.

"Judy," I sighed. "I'm sorry, I..."

"No," she cut me in a cold voice. "You're right. What do I know about kids? I better go. Good luck with Grace."

And with that she left without another word.

Now I had a gay daughter and sister who hated me.

And I know what you're thinking. You think I am an awful homophobic mother, but you're wrong. The thing is that, when you're a mother, you think about a lot of things for your children, and especially for your daughters. You want a big wedding with a successful handsome young man, beautiful children, grandchildren...But when you learn that your daughter is gay, all those dreams kind of disappear. I knew that all those dreams would be replaced by others, but I was at the step when everything had just felt apart.

"You okay, Lily?" asked a voice out of nowhere.

I turned around to see Jessie looking at me worriedly. Sweet and perfect Jessie. When things would go wrong, I just had to look at Jessie to know that everything would be alright. There was just something about her that made you feel that way.

"I'm fine," I said, quickly wiping my tears away. "We're eating soon, I'll call you when it's ready."

"Actually, can Tad stay over for dinner tonight?"

"Sure," I said, feeling the tears rising again and Jessie noticed it.

"If there's a problem..."

"No, no, it's fine. Tad is always welcomed here."

And Tad was always welcomed, even if he would always empty the fridge. But if I knew what was going to happen that night, I would have sent him right back to his house.

"Where is Grace?" Rick asked as we started dinner.

"She went to see a movie with her English class," I answered, trying to sound casual.

"Really?" Tad asked as his plate was almost empty already. "That's weird."

"Why? Why is it weird?" I asked in a tensed voice.

So much for being casual...

"Nothing." he answered, not knowing if it was a trick question or not. "It's just that I'm in her English class and I've never heard about it."

And just like that, a seventeen-year-old boy put an end to all my dreams.


	4. Chapter 4

**Grace's POV**

I wanted to die. That's what I kept thinking as I was going back home, crying my heart out. I had already suffered because of Eli, and now I was suffering because of August. I mean, Mr Dimitri. Why was my life so screwed up? I had already had to deal with my crush on Eli, and now I had to deal with _that._ And I know what you're thinking. That girl had a crush on her step-brother? Eww! And now she has a crush on her English teacher? Eww eww! And you're probably right, because that's exactly what I think today. At least for Eli. I mean, I was fifteen, how was I supposed not to be attracted to him? It was different with Mr Dimitri, though. I wasn't prepared for him. I mean, he was my teacher for God's sake! Teachers aren't supposed to be attractive. Still, there was just something about him I couldn't explain...All I knew was that I was in love. And I was seventeen. Was it so bad to hit on him instead of going to the movies? I still blush, just thinking about him. How could I have done that? That's exactly the kind of things you want to forget as you grow older but that's just impossible. Today I still wonder what would have happened if he had said yes. But he didn't, thank God! I can still see his face, completely helpless. I guess it could have been funny if I hadn't completely ridiculed myself. But he didn't make me feel like that at all, and that only made me fall even more in love with him. But I knew I didn't stand a chance. I knew there was something between us but he would never try anything simply because I was a student and he was a teacher.

But as I was going back home, I thought about the next day when I would have to see him and that's when I started telling myself I wanted to die. But how I was feeling right then was nothing compared to what was expecting me at home.

My mom was there, sitting at the kitchen counter, obviously waiting for me.

"How was the movie?" she asked, pretending to sound cool.

But she was nothing but cool. I could see it in the way she looking at me, gripping the counter. And I knew right away that something was wrong.

"You're not in bed?" I asked as I went to take a bottle of water from the fridge.

"I asked you a question," she snapped and I knew it was bad.

She knew. There was no other explanation. But how? God, I was screwed.

"Okay," I answered before making my way to the door, knowing it was hopeless.

"Grace, we need to talk," she said in a cold voice.

There were the words. I hated those words.

"Mom, it's late and I..."

"I don't care. We need to talk right now because if we don't, I'm not going to get any sleep."

I wanted to ask if she thought she could sleep after our talk but I didn't. Instead I took a seat in front of her and waited to get killed.

"I knew what you did tonight," she just said and I could see she was trying not to explode.

"What do you mean?"

It was obvious she knew something but I didn't how much so I chose to play it cool.

"No need to play dumb, Grace. Tad told me."

Tad? What did this moron have to do with this?

"He's in your English class, isn't he?" she asked, seeing the confused look on my face.

And that's when I got it. Tad didn't know about the movie, which meant that nobody did, which meant that it was just me and Mr Dimitri. I really was screwed.

"Before you say anything, I want you to know that nothing happened!" I said quickly, trying not to sound too disappointed.

She didn't say anything, she just closed her eyes, and when she opened them, they were full of tears. I had never seen my mother cry before and I was shocked.

"You hate me?" I asked, feeling my own tears rise.

"No!" my mom answered right away, putting a hand on my arm. "Of course not!"

I let out of sigh of relief. At least that point was cleared.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked me in a sad voice.

Or was it tired? I don't know, I was tired too.

"I was afraid you'd freak out," I answered honestly.

She sighed and ran a hand through her air.

"I'm not going to lie to you, Grace, that's exactly how I felt at first. But I thought about it. I thought about it a lot. I talked to Judy, and Rick of course, and both made me open my eyes on how closed minded I was. And I understood one thing. You're my daughter. And all I want is for you to be happy."

I was just speechless. I knew my mom was cool but had just gave me her blessing to be with Mr Dimitri? On Rick's advices? That was a dream, there was not other explanation.

"Are...You're okay with that?" I asked, sure I had heard it all wrong.

"I'm not saying it's going to be easy, but yes, I'm pretty sure I'm okay with this, although I'm going to need some getting used to it."

I just looked at her with my mouth agape. My mom really was the coolest, there was no way denying it now.

"You're awesome," I breathed out.

She chuckled.

"Do you really think I could hate you?" she asked. "I may not be a perfect mother, but I'm not a monster, you know."

All I could do was take her in my arms so that's what I did, for the first time in ages, and I could feel her tears on my cheek. Or were they mine?

"Thanks," I whispered.

"I want you to be happy."

I pulled away and we wiped our tears away, smiling like idiots.

"You know, I'd really like to meet her," she said.

"What?"

"Your girlfriend. I think it would really help me if I'd meet her."

Okay, now I was lost.

"I don't understand," I said, frowning.

"I understand if you don't want to," she said. "I know how secret you are about your love life, but...It would make things more official. And you don't have to worry about the others. Rick already knows, and Eli and Jessie are pretty open-minded. And Zoe has a lesbian friend, so I don't think she'd mind. Although she might ask you a lot of questions...We'll just tell her she's just a friend of..."

"Wait. What?"

"Or do you want to tell her? It's up to you, I don't want to pressure you. Or her. I guess you should ask...What's her name?"

And this is how you're back to the beginning, and even before that. My mom thought I was gay! Was I supposed to laugh or cry? And here I was thinking she was okay with the Mr Dimitri thing!

"Grace? Are you okay?"

What was I supposed to do? I couldn't tell her I wasn't gay after the talk we had. I had just admitted the fact I was hiding something, and if it wasn't me being gay then she would ask me what it was, and there was no way I was going to tell her the truth after that! So I nodded because it was the only thing I could do.

"Good," she said, smiling. "So, I guess you'll see with..."

She wanted a name so I had to think quick.

There was only one openly gay girl at Upton Sinclair High School so I told her her name without even thinking.

"Katie Singer."

I had no idea what I had gotten myself into.


	5. Chapter 5

**Russel's POV**

The whole school was talking about it. I hadn't been there for two seconds that Alexia rushed to me to tell me the big news: Grace Manning had slept with Mr Dimitri. It must have been the biggest thing in the whole history of Upton Sinclair high school. Still, I couldn't believe it. I knew Grace. And Mr Dimitri. Even if he was a teacher, he didn't look like the kind of man would do it with a student. As for Grace, even if I knew she had a crush on him, she wasn't the kind of girl who would jump on a guy she liked. But when Grace grabbed me and dragged me in an empty classroom, I started to believe that something might have happened.

"You'll never believe what happened!" she exclaimed, out of breath.

Her cheeks were all red and she had bags under her eyes.

"I thing I've got an idea," I said with a smirk.

"What? How? Don't tell me you know."

"The whole school knows, Grace."

Her jaw dropped before she spoke again.

"Is it why everybody's staring at me today?"

"Probably, yeah."

She started pacing and I could see it was really bad. Still, how could a girl like Grace do that?

"I can't believe it!" she exclaimed, still pacing. "Is it Tad? I can't believe it! What a moron! First, he tells my mom, and now the whole school! I swear I'm gonna kill him!"

"Actually, Alexia told me. And she also told the whole school, apparently. And Tad told your mother?"

She stopped her pacing.

"Wait. Alexia? What does Alexia have to do with this?"

"Well, apparently she saw the two of you getting cosy yesterday. I can't believe Tad told your mother. Are you sure he..."

"Wait, wait, wait," she cut me. "What are you talking about?"

"What are _you_ talking about?"

"Obviously not the same thing as you! So? What did Alexia see?"

"You and Mr Dimitri making out," I answered as if it was obvious.

What else could I be talking about?

"Oh my God," Grace breathed out, leaning against the wall.

She was pale and looked like she had just seen a ghost and it could only mean one thing.

"Is it true?" I asked, slightly afraid of the answer.

"No!" she answered quickly. "I mean...not completely."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, let's say it is true in my head, but not in his."

It took me a few seconds to get it.

"You naughty girl," I smirked, giving her an affectionate shove.

She shoved me back more violently.

"This isn't funny, Russel!" she exclaimed. "The whole school think I slept with Mr Dimitri! I can't believe Alexia said that! What a bitch! I bet she's jealous, and now everybody believes her! Do you think the principal knows? What about Mr Dimitri? What is he going to say?"

"We'll see when we get to class."

She let out a groan and let herself slide against the wall to the floor.

"And my mom who thinks I'm gay," she mumbled.

"What?" I chuckled, sure I hadn't heard right.

"That was what I was talking about earlier," she answered absentmindedly. "Yesterday when I got home she told me she knew where I had spent the night and then bam! She thinks I'm gay."

I know it was cruel but I couldn't help bursting out laughing.

"Russel," she pleaded. "I swear, if you..."

"Sorry, sorry," I said, trying to stifle my laugher. "But you gotta admit that's kinda funny. Your mom thinks you're gay while the whole school thinks you slept with Dimitri."

Just saying it made me laugh even more. But Grace looked even more depressed than before.

"That's not the worst part," she said in a quiet voice.

"What can possibly be worse than that?" I asked, chuckling.

"I kinda told her I was."

"That you were what?"

She didn't answer but I could see the answer in her eyes.

"Why on earth would tell her that you're gay?"

"Because I was tricked! There was nothing else I could do! She was really cool with me last night. We had this great talk when she told me all she wanted was for me to be happy and all that. We hadn't had a talk like that in ages! I even hugged her!"

I didn't know what kind of troll logic was that but I didn't say anything, until Grace groaned again and buried her head in her hands.

"What now?"

Grace had never been in trouble before, but she had sure made up for it.

"She thinks I have a girlfriend," she said, her voice muffled by her hands.

"And?"

"And wants to meet her,"

"And?"

"And asked me who she was."

"And?"

She didn't answer and just looked up at me. Once again it took me a few seconds to answer. There was only one answer.

"You're kidding, right?"

Grace just shook her head and I burst out laughing once more.

"Russel!"

But I couldn't help it. This was just too much.

"Oh, my," I said, once I started to calm down. "This is so much more fun than the whole Dimitri thing."

She didn't say anything, just stayed sitting on the floor, lost in space. And that's when I realized that she was really affected by all this. I thought the whole thing was funny because I knew all these rumors weren't true, but the others didn't know that, and it could have been bad for Grace ,and for Mr Dimitri, who, let's be honest, was a pretty decent guy. So I started thinking about a way to sort this whole mess. Grace was my friend and she needed my help. And it took me just a few minutes to come up with a plan.

"I have a possibly terrible idea," I said, knowing she would probably hate it.

"What?" she asked suspiciously.

"Well, if your mom thinks you're gay, maybe you should pretend to be."

"I kinda already did that when I told her I had a girlfriend, Russel."

"I know that but...What I mean is that maybe the whole school should also think that you're gay."

"What?!"

"Just let me finish before yelling, okay? Right now, everybody thinks you slept with Mr Dimitri, which means that the Principal probably thinks that too, which means that Mr Dimitri is going to get fired and you're going to be the slut who slept with her teacher for the rest of high school, possibly even after that. Your mom doesn't know that because she thinks you're gay. And if she learns that you lied to her and that you are actually into your teacher, she's probably going to kill you. So, don't you think...Don't you think that this whole gay thing would be the best way to stop all the rumors and the possible drama that might ensue? Your mom will never know you lied to her, and Mr Dimitri won't get fired."

She didn't say a word for five minutes. She thought about what I had just said, her mouth slightly open and her brow furrowed. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, she spoke.

"I guess it makes sense, in some incredibly twisted way. But you're forgetting one thing. How am I supposed to make everybody think I'm a lesbian? I'm not gonna wear a shirt saying 'I'm gay!', am I?"

"You said it yourself, you told your mom you had a girlfriend."

"Yeah, but..."

She stopped, finally getting where I was going, and she looked up at me to see my most evil grin.

"Let's go see your girlfriend," was all I said as I offered her my hand.


	6. Chapter 6

**Katie's POV**

You know how sometimes you make a decision that doesn't seem like a big deal, but then this decision happens to be this huge thing that changes everything? Well, if you don't, let me explain it to you, because that's exactly what happened to me. Here I was, minding my own business, perfectly happy with my own life, when suddenly, because of a simple decision, it got turned up upside down. So here goes what happened.

As I said, I was minding my own business just watching the cheerleaders practice and devouring a bag of Cheetos like I always did at this time of day, when I spotted Russel approaching me along with Grace Manning. Anyone who knew these two would have known that seeing them in a gym meant there was something going on. And as Russel started talking to me, I knew I was right.

"Hey Katie," he said cheerfully. "God, you look gorgeous today! Did you do something to your hair?"

"What do you want?" I asked right away.

It's not that I didn't like him, but just because we were both gay didn't mean we had to be friends. And besides, I wasn't really in the mood to make small talk; I was too busy ogling the cheerleaders. Not that I was a big perv, but uniforms just have this effect on me.

"We need your help," Grace said, coming to stand in front of me and blocking my view in the process.

I stopped chewing on my Cheetos and looked up at her. I had known Grace Manning for years and she had never ever asked for my help before that. Hell, she had barely even talked to me before that!

"How come?" I asked, intrigued.

Grace's big attitude vanished at my question and Russel decided to take over.

"It's kind of a funny story, actually," he said uneasily.

"This isn't funny," Grace mumbled.

"You're probably gonna laugh..."

"You better not laugh."

"...but you're kinda our only hope. Grace's only hope."

That made me want to burst out laughing, but I was too curious about what they were talking about.

"What are you talking about?"

"Okay," Russel said, sitting next to me on the bleachers. "I guess you heard about the rumours, right?"

I nodded. Of course I'd heard about the rumours. That was pretty much all that people were talking about. But I knew they weren't true. Grace Manning didn't have the balls to do that with a teacher. Not that I cared, anyway. Still, it woulda been fun.

"They aren't true," Grace said quickly and we both looked at her.

No kidding.

"Right," Russel said, bringing his attention back to me. "They're not true. So..."

"It's just Alexia who made this all up, and then she told..."

"Okay, Grace, I think we got it," Russel cut her. "Anyways, the whole school thinks Grace had sex with Mr Dimitri, which isn't true, and Grace's mother thinks she's gay."

Now, that was something I hadn't expected.

"What?" I exclaimed, half-chocking, half-laughing.

"Grace's mother thinks she's gay," Russel repeated as if it was perfectly normal.

"It's not true either," Grace said.

"Anyways, long story short, we need you to be Grace's girlfriend," Russel added.

Pause.

You know how sometimes you think you just fell asleep in the middle of a conversation because you have no idea what people are talking about? Well, that was one of those moments.

"How about we make long story long because I'm kinda lost, here," I said, almost certain that this was a joke.

It was Grace's turn to sit on the bleachers and she took a deep breath before telling me everything about the brilliant plan she and Russel had come up with.

"So, let me get this straight," I said once she'd finished. "Your mom thinks your gay because of that whole Gay-Straight Alliance thing, which you went to only because you're into Mr Dimitri."

Grace nodded.

"And yesterday you went to the movies with Mr Dimitri – which is pretty sick, by the way – and this morning the whole school thinks that you guys had sex."

Grace nodded again.

"But you're mom thinks you're gay."

Another nod.

"But none of this is true."

Nod.

And that was it, I couldn't hold it any longer and I burst out laughing.

My laugh echoed through the whole gym and everybody looked at us while Grace and Russel tried to disappear just by closing their eyes.

"I knew you would do that," Grace said through clenched teeth. "I told you not to do that!"

"I'm sorry," I said through laughter, not even trying to look like I was. "But this is fucking priceless! And here I thought you were boring."

Russel started laughing along with me.

"Okay, that's enough!" Grace said, hitting us both. "This isn't funny!"

But we kept laughing. I know that sounds cruel, but come on! How many chances you get to hear a story like that?

"Okay, nevermind," Grace said and she started to get up.

"Wait, wait, wait," Russel said, grabbing her arm to make her stay.

He stopped laughing immediately and glared at me so I would do the same, which I tried to do.

"Okay," I said, once I had sobered up. "So you want everybody to think that you're gay so you won't get expelled and Mr Dimitri won't get fired."

"And my mom won't kill me," Grace added.

"Right. I think I got the whole thing. But why me? I mean, do you really have to have a girlfriend to do that? And does it really have to be me?"

"Well," Grace said, avoiding my eyes. "My mom thinks I have a girlfriend. I don't really know how she came up with that. And since you're the only gay girl in school, I couldn't think of anyone else."

Their plan was pretty clever, considering the completely crazy situation. But I wasn't very enthusiastic about being part of it. I mean, I had a life too!

Okay, my life wasn't that great but they didn't have to know that.

"And what makes you think I'm gonna say yes?" I asked.

"Your incredible generosity?" Russel tried, giving me his best smile.

As if it was gonna convince me.

"Look," Grace said, back to her usual bossy attitude. "I know it's crazy but it's the only way. I'm stuck on both sides, and if you don't help me then I'm...I'm screwed."

And since when did I care about Grace Manning's screwed up life? She had gotten herself into this whole mess on her own! Why should I have to be part of this?

Because I was a stupid moron, that's why. Because I thought it was gonna be fun. Because I had nothing else to do. Because nothing ever happened in this boring town and it was a golden opportunity to have some drama going on. And also because Grace offered to pay me for service rendered. I'm generous like that.

So yeah, I agreed to their fucked up plan.

If I had said no, I would have gone back to my boring life...and I would have stayed out of this mess.


	7. Chapter 7

**Lily's POV**

So that was it, my daughter was gay. And the weirdest thing was that I was okay with that. I had spent the last few weeks fretting over this, worrying about my job as a mother, and now that what I had dreaded was finally out in the open, I was actually relieved and glad. Not glad that my daughter was gay, but glad because she had finally told me, that she had trusted me enough to tell me about this huge thing happening in her life, and I couldn't be happier about that. As for the gay thing, I guess I was still a little shaken by that, but I had realized that it didn't really matter. Grace was still Grace, the world hadn't exploded into a big ball of fire, and she was happy. And honestly, it was all that mattered. Judy was right, it wasn't so bad, and that's why I decided to tell her first before I told anyone else. Not that I was planning to put an ad in the paper or anything, but some people needed to know. Unfortunately I didn't have time to really think this through as I got an interesting phone call. Isn't it funny how when things seem to have settled down, something new comes along and everything is messed up all over again? Well, it happened to me when that woman called me. She was Alexia's mother and she started accusing my daughter of sleeping with her English teacher. At first I didn't know how to react. And even after that I still didn't know how to react. Grace had just told me she had a girlfriend and now some woman was saying she was having sex with her male teacher. Could things get any worse? I was so confused, I still can't describe it. Sure, I believed my daughter over this woman, but it's not the kind of things you can just ignore. I had had my fare share of complicated situations in my life, but this was by far the worst of all. And there was only one thing I could do at this moment.

Judy pretended that she hadn't seen me as I came to see her at Booklovers. She was all grown up now, but sometimes she still acted like a kid. She didn't want to talk to me at first, even after my apologies, but she finally gave in when I told her about the events of the last 24 hours.

"Oh my God," she breathed out after I had finished. "Oh my God."

"Try saying that a hundred times and you may feel how I feel right now."

"Do you think it's true?"

"What? Grace's version or that woman's version?"

Judy didn't know more than I did.

"Well, which one do you believe?" she asked tentatively.

I didn't need time to think about it.

"I'm telling you, Grace being gay would be the best thing that's ever happened right now."

"So you believe her?"

"Yes," I answered right away, but then thought about it. "No. I don't know!"

Judy shared a sympathetic look with me.

"I mean, what am I supposed to think? Grace never tells me anything. I had to use all my willpower to make her tell me she was gay, but what if she had lied to me about that too?"

"But why telling you she's gay and has a girlfriend if she had sex with her teacher then?"

The words made me shiver.

But Judy was right. This was ridiculous. Why would Grace invent such a thing? Besides I didn't know that woman. I knew her daughter and that was enough.

I was about to tell Judy when Jake decided to show up.

Since the divorce, it had always been awkward between us. I was grateful we were not one of those couples who kept fighting even when they weren't together anymore, like Rick and Karen, for exemple, but he was my ex-husband, hence the awkwardness everytime we saw each other.

"Hi, how are you?"

"Great! How are you?"

"Great!"

And that was it. The only thing that still remained between us was our love for our daughters. Speaking of which…

"Are you going to tell him?" Judy asked me as soon as Jake was out of earshot.

Was I? He was Grace's father, after all. He deserved to know. But know what? I mean, that was the whole point, wasn't it?

"Not yet. I have to speak to Grace, first."

With that new resolve, I left Booklovers and went back home to wait for Grace's return from school.

I was in the kitchen when I heard her coming home, or more like fighting with Jessie. Some things never changed.

"Look, I don't care if you did it or not," Jessie said as I heard the front door open. "And I don't even want to know, that's just too gross. I'm just sick of people asking me embarrassing questions about you tow."

"You're just jealous because for once you're not the centre of everyone's attention!" Grace retorted and I swear she sounded just like Zoe.

"Yeah, right!" Jessie snickered. "I'm so jealous of you and Dimitri. Get real, Grace."

"Oh, why don't you-"

They stopped as soon as I emerged the kitchen, looking like deers caught in the headlights.

"Oh, hey Lily," Jessie said, trying to look innocent.

She was pretty good at it. But Grace wasn't.

"You're not at work?" she asked in a tensed voice.

"I finished early," I lied. "How was school?"

Grace was too busy freaking out internally so Jessie took over.

"You know, the usual," she answered, brushing past me and heading upstairs. "I'll be in my room."

That's when Grace decided to come back to earth.

"I'll be in my room too," she said, following Jessie.

I let her go, gave her time to compose herself, and then went to knock on her door. She was pretending to be absorbed in her homework but even Grace couldn't be that much into homework.

"I got a call today," I said as I sat on her bed.

"Oh yeah?" she asked absentmindedly.

"Alexia's mom."

It was enough to get her attention.

"She said something about you and Mr Dimitri, about-"

"It's not true!" Grace exclaimed right away.

She was obviously really disturbed by all this.

"It's not true," she repeated more calmly.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Then why did that girl said such things about you?"

I knew she didn't want to talk about it, I could see it in the way she avoided my eyes.

"Grace?" I pressed her.

"Because…Because she's jealous!"

"Of who?"

She was feeling uncomfortable. But I had to know.

"Of me. And Katie. She knows about me and Katie and she's jealous. Because we're a couple. And she's not. In a couple, I mean."

That didn't make much sense to me.

"You mean Alexia is gay too?"

Suddenly, Grace seemed more open about this.

"Yes! And she's in love with Katie. That's why she's so jealous of me. Hence the rumour she started spreading about me."

It was amazing the amount of gay kids in this school.

"So you never had sex with your teacher?" I asked.

"No, of course not!"

With that she let out a small laugh.

"Oh thank God," I breathed out, and I had never felt so relieved in my entire life.

"Did you really believe I could do such a thing?" she asked in a small voice and I could see she was disappointed.

"Of course not," I answered, taking her hand in mine. "I just…When this woman called I was caught off guard. And I'm still not completely used to you and Katie. But I will. How do you say we have a big dinner this weekend and you can ask Katie to come over."

After all these rumours, I couldn't help but feel a wave of sympathy for that girl I didn't even know.

Of course Grace wasn't thrilled about the idea but she finally gave in, admitting that it would be good to introduce Katie to the whole family.

I was proud of myself. I had managed to handle yet another crisis in the Sammler-Manning family. Of course that was nothing compared to the crisis that was coming.


	8. Chapter 8

**Russel's POV**

Grace was freaking, yet again, and I was loving it! Don't get me wrong, I loved Grace, but this whole thing was just hilarious, and it had become the reason why I even got up in the morning. School had never been easy for me, simply because high school sucks even more than usual when you're black and gay. And even though I considered myself lucky to have a friend like Grace, there were still a lot of people who only saw me as the gay kid and it made me want to just stay in bed every morning. But now every day was an adventure especially now that Katie Singer had been added to the mix.

"Hey girlfriend," she said as she took a seat next to Grace while we were waiting for Mr Dimitri to show up in class.

Grace just glared at her and I couldn't help but chuckle. This whole thing was even funnier than I had expected, especially since I had nothing to do with it.

"What?" Katie asked Grace innocently. "You're not already breaking up with me, are you?"

"Shut up," Grace hissed, glancing nervously around her. "This isn't a joke!"

"I know, but it's pretty funny."

And it was. Except not for Grace.

"So, tell me," Katie added in an amused voice. "When are we gonna make things officials? Because, honestly, I can't wait to see their faces when…"

She was interrupted by Mrs Lorie who came to tell us that Mr Dimitri wasn't going to come and that we had to stay there until the end of the period.

"Oh my God," Grace let out. "They fired him!"

"No they didn't," I told her and placed a compassionate hand on her shoulder. "They probably thought it was best if he stayed out of school until things get cleared up."

"But what if he got fired? What if I never see him again? He's gonna think it's all my fault!"

I didn't know what to say. I guess in a way it was her fault. After all, she's the one who made the first move, but it wasn't like there was anything to ruin between them.

But I didn't have to worry about what to say as Alexa decided she hadn't done enough already.

"I bet you're proud of you" she told Grace as she turned in her seat to face her, her bitchy attitude on full mode.

"Excuse me?" Grace asked.

"The only good teacher we had and you had to sleep with him and get him fired!"

"Yeah Grace," Tad said, as if he was actually interested in what was going on. "For once we had a cool teacher. Now we're probably gonna have one who actually gives us homework!"

He laughed at his own joke along with the other students who were now all listening to Grace and Alexa. None of them cared about Mr Dimitri. They didn't care about Grace either. They just wanted some more juicy gossip. And Alexa was the best for that.

"I'm sure it was all part of your plan, wasn't it?" she asked.

Grace didn't know what to say. She was probably torn between slapping Alexa or crying over Mr Dimitri being sacked.

At that moment I felt sorry for her. I had always admired Grace for her brightness and the fact that she didn't feel the need to be like all the other girls. And there she was, victim of the old high school cliché while she hadn't done anything at all. Ok, she had a crush on a teacher, but she wasn't the first one. Besides it was more admiration than attraction, but I guess being seventeen made them unaware of the difference.

I could have told them that, I could have stood up for my friend, but I just stayed there, rooted in my seat, waiting for the kind of miracle that would make Alexa and all those morons magically disappear. That miracle didn't happen, but Katie did.

"Okay this is getting ridiculous," she said shaking her head. "You never gave a shit about Dimitri and now you're suddenly becoming his knight in shining armour?"

"Stay away from this Singer," Alexa said, throwing her a look of disdain. "This has nothing to do with you so why don't you go back to...whatever you gay people usually do at this time of day."

There was a shocked silence. It's funny how they all appeared to be shocked when they would hear things like that while it was exactly what they were thinking. That was exactly the kind of hypocrisy I hated. They all pretended to support gay people while they would rather have died than hanging out with me or Katie. And I guess we could have been grateful to Alexa for not being such a hypocrite. Except that Alexa was a bitch, so there was no way I was going to thank her.

But although that hypocrisy was the main reason why I hated school, Katie didn't give shit about it. And she proved that point by bursting out laughing at Alexa's words, shocking everybody even more.

Now let me tell you a little bit more about Katie Singer. If being gay hadn't always been easy for me, it had for Katie Singer. She didn't give a rat's ass about what other people thought, and she was out even before all of us knew what being gay even meant. She had become a legend because of that, but also because there was no one else like her in Evanston. She was this tall gorgeous girl who could have everything she wanted but kept doing the opposite of what people expected her to do. Everybody admired her for that, how she did everything she felt like doing and didn't do what she thought was pointless, like going to class, hanging out with the popular kids, kissing the teachers' asses, wearing the last fashionable clothes, or going to the best parties. If you went left, she would go right, just because she felt like it. And I guess that's why she didn't have many friends in school, because we were all afraid of that freedom. We all wanted to be loved and popular, we couldn't afford to be like her. I admired her for that, because she was everything I would never be.

"Alexa, Alexa," Katie sighed dramatically once she had stopped laughing. "You're so naïve."

With that she got up to stand right next to Grace's seat. Grace was looking at her with wide eyes, probably knowing what was going to happen but apparently unable to stop it. I, for my part, couldn't wait for what was going to come next.

"It has a lot to do with me, actually," Katie added, placing a hand on Grace's shoulder.

Alexa looked from Grace to Katie for a whole minute before she got it.

"What do you mean?" she finally asked but something in her eyes said that she already knew.

Everybody was now listening to the conversation, waiting for Grace or Katie to say something. Grace being to busy freaking out internally, Katie decided to have a little more fun.

"I mean that I think I have my word to say if you start spreading rumours about my girl," she said, tightening her grip around Grace's shoulder and grinning even more at the grunt that escaped Grace's lips.

There was a murmur around us after that and I couldn't help but grin too. Now _that _was something they didn't expect.

"You're kidding, right?" Alexa scoffed in all her bitchy glory.

"Nope," was all Katie said.

She knew it wasn't going to be enough, I could see it in her eyes. And I knew she was loving it.

It was Alexa's turn to burst out laughing but it was so forced, I couldn't help but roll my eyes.

"You really expect me to believe that?" she said between laughter. "That's, like, the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard in my entire life!"

"Why would that be ridiculous?"

"Please! You and Grace? First, she's straight, and second, the only reason you'd date her would be if she paid you!"

"Hey!" Grace exclaimed, finally coming back to reality.

With that, some people laughed too and I felt even more sorry for Grace. Because even though Alexa was joking, she had figured the whole thing out without even knowing it. Maybe our brilliant plan wasn't that brilliant after all, because no one seemed to buy it. But that was underestimating Katie Singer.

"Aww, don't be jealous, Alexa. You know you still got a special place in my heart," she said, grinning at Alexa and I swear I saw that bitch blush.

There was this rumour at school that Katie Singer could turn any straight girl gay and that she had a dozen times, and I guess that, for once, there was actually some truth about a rumour.

"And Grace is not as straight as you think," Katie added. "She showed it to me a bunch of times already."

With that she winked at Grace who just glared at her.

"Fine," Alexa said, raising an eyebrow. "Prove it."

"What?" Grace asked, taken aback.

"Prove it," Alexa repeated, her devious smile back on her lips. "If you're really together, you won't mind kissing, will you?"

Grace opened her mouth to protest, but Katie was faster.

"Alright," she said, shrugging.

With that she kneeled to be eye-level to Grace and kissed her before she could protest. Alexa probably expected a small peck that wouldn't prove anything at all and so did everybody, but Katie knew that, and she made sure the kiss was convincing. Grace didn't have to do anything (and I'm sure at this stage she wasn't even able to _think_ anything), Katie did all the work and damn she was good! If I hadn't known the truth, I would have totally bought it.

I took a look at the others and I wished I had a camera. They all looked like cartoon characters with their eyes bulging and their mouth agape. It was like they were seeing two girls kissing for the first time and now that I think about it, it was probably the case.

Finally, Katie pulled away and turned towards the others, while Grace was trying to recover.

I could already imagine how pissed she was going to be once she would be back to reality.

"Right," Katie said, getting up as if nothing had happened. "I think I made my point. Or do you need any more convincing?"

She glanced around her and everybody shook their head, apart from Tad, of course.

"I do!" he exclaimed, raising his hand. "Do it again!"

"Shut up Tad!" Grace snapped, finally back with us.

It was all the others needed. It was pure chaos for the next hour, everybody gathering around Grace and Katie and asking them questions like how did they do to have sex or if they asked Mr Dimitri to join them. Every time, Grace would glare at them and tell them to shut up while Katie would just lean back in her chair and grin.

Finally the bell rang and Grace jumped out of her seat and grabbed Katie.

"Now if you'll excuse us," she said, trying to smile. "We have this thing to do. Not _that_ thing. Another thing. The thing that…Oh, whatever!"

And with that she left, dragging Katie along with her and I couldn't wait to see what was going to happen between these two. I knew they probably needed some privacy, but what can I say, I was a sucker for drama. So I took off after them and it wasn't long before I found them in the girls' bathroom.

"I can't believe you did this!" Grace exclaimed, hitting Katie's arm.

And from the way Katie rolled her eyes, I guessed it wasn't the first time.

"What?" she asked innocently. "I'm supposed to be your girlfriend, right?"

"That doesn't mean you have to…to kiss me in front of everybody!"

"Actually, it kinda does."

I couldn't help but chuckle at that and both turned towards me, noticing me for the first time.

"Hey, it's the girls' bathroom!" Grace exclaimed, obviously pissed off at everything and everyone by now.

I gave her a look.

"Whatever," she shrugged, going back to yelling at Katie.

"That wasn't part of the deal!" she said, pacing furiously. "We were just supposed to make them think we were dating!"

"And that's what we did!" Katie answered starting to get pissed too.

I had to be with her on that one. Sure what she did was unexpected but she had managed to make everyone forget about Grace and Dimitri.

"You didn't have to put your tongue down my throat for that!" Grace countered.

It was a good thing there was no one else in the bathroom.

"Oh, come on Grace! It was just a kiss!"

Grace was about to make a comeback when suddenly I went flying as the door smashed open.

We all turned and I'm pretty sure we must have looked like deer caught in the headlights when we saw who it was.


	9. Chapter 9

**Grace's POV**

"Hey, it's the girls' bathroom!" Jessie exclaimed when she saw Russel.

He just gave her the same look he had given me earlier.

"Whatever," Jessie said, her eyes finally landing on me. "We need to talk."

I knew she was talking to me and I prayed for the others to stay there, or for the world to implode so I wouldn't have to do this.

"Uh…," Katie started, and for the first time she actually looked uncomfortable. "Maybe we should leave you two to talk."

I threw her a look of despair but she ignored it and went to the door.

"Wait," Russel started. "Maybe we could-"

But he didn't get to finish as Katie grabbed him by the arm and out the bathroom.

I could have been pissed at them if I wasn't in such a terrible situation.

As soon as they were out, Jessie's expression changed and she looked like she had forgotten why she was there.

It was weird thinking that she was the most popular girl in school and that I was the only one who intimidated her. I guess I could have felt all victorious about it but I actually felt terrible because I knew that wasn't what I was supposed to be to her. I was supposed to act like a big sister to her, but the truth was that I didn't want anything to have to do with her because I couldn't stand being compared to her since it reminded of how imperfect I was. It's not that I wanted to be perfect, but I knew I could never be her.

I knew it was driving her crazy that I didn't make any effort to get along with her. Everybody liked her, and I was a failure in her perfect little life. And it made me feel great and horrible all at once.

My life was so much simpler before she got into my life.

"Is it true?" she asked in an unsure voice.

"What is?" I asked, although I knew perfectly well what she was talking about.

Of course, she knew it too.

"You being…You kissing Katie Singer."

She couldn't even say the word!

For one moment I wanted to be gay, just to mess her up just a little more.

"That's none of your business," I answered, turning my back on her to wash my hands.

The truth was, I had no idea what to do. Telling her the truth was too much of a risk. She would probably tell Tad and he would tell the rest of the school in no time. But lying to her was risky too. Jessie wasn't stupid. She knew about Eli, and she probably knew about Mr Dimitri too. Although she was the person I was the most distant too, she was probably the one who knew me better. And there was no doubt that she would tell everyone if she found out I had made fun of her.

But she chose for me.

"Of course it's my business!" she said, raising her voice. "It's my business if the whole starts spreading another stupid rumor about you!"

I didn't see why it was her business, actually, but I decided to let that part go for now.

"Why do you ask me if it's true if you think it's just a stupid rumor, then?" I asked angrily, turning back to face her.

"Because Tad told me that he saw you!"

Of course he did. I should have known he was already into this.

"Well, then, you have your answer," I said.

I couldn't help but smirk when I saw her expression. She was freaking and I was loving it. It's not that Jessie was intolerant, actually she was one of the most tolerant person I knew, but being gay simply didn't exist in her perfect existence. She was dating the school's basketball star, of course being didn't exist!

"So, it's true?" she asked, getting paler by the second.

"Why do you care?" I asked, finally wondering why she cared so much.

Although Jessie wanted desperately for me to like her, she had pretty much given up on me, realizing how stubborn I could be sometimes. The only one who still thought that there was some hope was my mom, but that's another story.

"Because I'm your step-sister!" she answered, not letting me win just yet. "And I'm sick of listening to people making fun of you behind your back!"

Well, that was something I hadn't expected. Jessie actually cared about what people might say about me?

She saw the look of surprise and confusion on my face and tried to take that back.

"I mean, it's almost like they were making fun of me," she added, with an anger that didn't reach her eyes. "And there's no way I'm paying for your mistakes! I have a reputation to keep up, but I can't defend myself if I don't even know what they're talking about!"

Jessie was one of those people who felt threatened by anything that wasn't normal. Not because she was afraid to be directly affected by it, but because it meant that she wasn't in control anymore, and that freaked her out.

"So," she said, actually stomping her foot. "Is it true or not?"

It was my turn to get mad.

"And what if it is, huh?" I asked, taking a step towards her. "What if I'm gay? You're afraid that it's gonna ruin your perfect life? You're afraid of what people are gonna say? 'Oh, poor little Jessie! Her step-sister if gay! What has she done to deserve that?'. Or maybe they're gonna think you're gay too! And we couldn't possibly have that, could we? Perfect little Jessie could never be gay or have a gay step-sister!"

I stopped my antics to catch my breath and waited for her answer.

I expected her to yell even more than I just had, to accuse me of doing everything to ruin her life, or even to slap me, who knows. But she didn't do any of those things. She just nodded slowly and sighed.

"So, you really are gay, then," she said, not even looking at me.

That's all she remembered from what I had just said?

"Don't worry," I said, my voice full of bitterness. "It's not gonna interfere with your sad little li-"

I didn't have time to finish as she threw her arms around me.

At first I thought she was doing some kind of Tae Kwon Do hold to sprawl me down but my feet were still firmly on the floor. And that's when I realized what was going on. Jessie was hugging me. She was actually hugging me! How on earth was this happening?

"Uh…Jessie?" I asked, sure that I had had some kind of blackout and that I had missed something.

She pulled back just enough to look at me.

"Grace, how could you think that?" she asked with a trembling voice.

I just looked at her confused so she kept on talking.

"Do you really think I'll think less of you because you're gay?" she asked, a mix of deception and surprise in her voice.

Actually yes, I did. But I guess Jessie was more complex that she already was.

"But you just said-", I started, trying to prove myself that I was still right.

"Forget what I just said," she interrupted. "I was just mad because you didn't want to tell me. I don't care if you like girls. I mean, I do! But in a good way. I mean...You don't have to hide it from me. Because I'm okay with it. Not that you need my approbation, but…I'm on your side."

I frowned. That was new.

"Okay, that didn't come out right," she added quickly. "What I mean is…I'm your step-sister and I care about you. And whatever you may think of me, I want you to know that you can trust me."

With that she smiled that Jessie smile that made everybody crazy and I'm pretty sure that I had never felt so bad that right this moment.

She actually cared about me. I was lying to her just to freak her out because I thought she was one of those closed-minded bimbo, only to find out that her heart was even bigger than any person's I had ever met. I wanted to cry I wanted to run away and hide for the rest of my life. I didn't deserve her trust, I didn't deserve her love. I was a horrible human being.

I guess I could have started by telling her the truth. But seeing her smile, this open smile that she had never given me before, I just couldn't. We had reached something new and telling her the truth after that would have ruined everything.

So I did the only I could do, I kept on lying.

"Thanks," I said, smiling back at her.

She let out a long sigh and I could actually see the relief over her face before she hugged me again.

I couldn't hug her back, too busy feeling guilty. She felt it and pulled back before taking a step away from me.

"Sorry," she said, wiping away the tears that had started falling earlier.

Seeing Jessie cry could break just anybody's heart, even mine, so I tried my best to make it better.

"It's okay," I said, trying to give her my warmest smile and it seemed to work.

There was a long silence where the only sound that could be heard was Jessie sniffing and the students in the hall.

"I'm really glad you told me," Jessie finally said, looking up to smile at me.

I'm pretty sure she could see the big lump in my throat.

"And I'm glad I told you."

I really was a monster.


	10. Chapter 10

**Katie's POV**

So it was time for the big night at the Mannings' and Grace was about to lose her mind. She had spent the whole day giving me all kinds of advice and warnings, and she also had threatened me to death in case I decided to spoil the whole night by telling the truth. Although it sounded tempting, ruining her whole plan wasn't my intention. I mean, that was pretty fun seeing everyone freaking about the idea of me and Grace, and I couldn't wait to see her mother's face. But even if I had promised Grace that I would be nice, she was sceptical, and I guess she had every right to considering my reputation. I had always been the one parents didn't want their kids to hang out with, the kid who never gets invited at birthday parties and who later spends her time doing graffiti on the bathroom walls. But Lily Manning seemed pretty cool, despite all of what Grace had said to me. Just the fact that she wanted to meet the girl she thought was her daughter's girlfriend was proof of that. My parents had never met any of my girlfriends. It's not that they didn't approve of what they called 'my lifestyle' but they just didn't care. But then again, even if they did, I would never have introduced them to any girl I was dating.

So anyways, this brings us to me showing up at the Manning's house at six o'clock sharp. I had no idea why Grace wanted me there so early, but I figured it was because I would have to go through the whole 'let's-get-to-know-you' thing from Grace's mother. Of course I'd had a little pep talk from Grace about what I was supposed to say and not say. It was kinda new to me considering the fact that nobody had wanted to 'get to know me' since…well, anybody had never really wanted to know me since they knew that I was gay and that it was apparently the only thing that mattered to them. It was fine by me, it's not like I wanted to know them either. That's why I had always stayed away from the other kids. But now that I was involved in this thing, I had to be friendly to other people and that kinda freaked me out. I hadn't told Grace about that, she would have freaked out even more and it wouldn't have helped me at all. So I was going to play it cool, just like I had always done.

So I took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

"Who are you?" asked the kid who opened the door, without even trying to sound polite.

Grace had told me about Zoe. Apparently she was a pain in the ass who asked too many questions and "only lived to make my life a living hell", to quote Grace's words.

I liked her already.

"Hey," I said cheerfully. "I'm-"

But I didn't even get to that part as Grace appeared out of nowhere to push Zoe aside and grabbed me by the arm.

"I get it, Zoe," she said quickly. "You go back to your room now."

"But-" Zoe started but she was cut off by Grace's glare.

Now let me tell you about Grace's glare. You can't even imagine its powers unless you see it for real. It's like you're frozen on the spot. You know these Dementors in Harry Potter? Well, Grace's glare is a Dementor. Except there's no spell against it.

But I guess Zoe was used to it, because she ignored it like it was nothing.

"Who is it?" she asked, studying me.

"She's just Katie," Grace answered in an exasperated tone. "I told you about her, remember?"

"No, you didn't."

Grace rolled her eyes.

"Well, she's Katie. Now go!"

And The Glare was back and this time it seemed to work as Zoe backed off before running up the stairs.

"She seems nice," I said when we heard a door slam, indicating that Zoe was now in her room.

"Don't start," Grace warned me. "Zoe doesn't know so don't say anything to her about us. In fact don't say anything to her at all and we should be fine."

For a second, I felt sorry for that poor kid. Grace was already a pain in the ass as a fake girlfriend, so I could only imagine how bad she was as a sister.

"Fine," I shrugged. "Am I allowed to speak to someone or should I just keep my mouth shut for the evening?"

Just as Grace was about to answer, a woman came into the hall and I could only assume that it was Grace's mother.

"I thought I heard voices," she said, smiling big. "You must be Katie. I'm Lily, Grace's mom."

She whipped her hands in the cloth she was holding before extending one of them, which I immediately shook.

"Hello Mrs Manning," I said.

"Sammler," Grace whispered.

"Sammler," I repeated loudly.

"Please, call me Lily," she said, smiling.

"It's really nice to meet you. Grace told me a lot about you."

"She did?" Lily asked, a mix of surprise and satisfaction. "What did she say?"

Uh-oh.

Basically, Grace had told me that her mother was, like, the archetype of the mother. She knew everything and seemed to read people's mind like it was a sixth sense. She was worse than a spy and the least I would say, the better it would be. But I guess that's one of the things I wasn't supposed to say that Grace had told me about. So I made something up and quick.

"Well, that you were an amazing mother," I said, giving her my best smile that I knew could get me out of any situations. "With how you supported her when she told you about her being gay and that we were together. There're not a lot of parents who would have reacted the way you did, you know. And Grace was really touched by that. And so was I, of course. Because it's not always easy and it feels good when someone is on our side. It reminds us that we're just like anybody else. Two people in love, and we only ask for the world to love us too."

That was my problem. I just couldn't stop talking. And it was even worse when I was lying. The trickier the situation, the more I would talk. I just talked too much. And the look on Lily's face confirmed it. I didn't even dare look at Grace because I knew I would see The Glare. Hell, I could just feel without seeing it!

"Well, thank you, Katie," Lily said gently, like when you talk to someone retarded or something.

I had to make this better.

"No, thank you," I said. "For inviting me. That's really nice of you."

That's when I thought I should have brought flowers.

God, I really sucked at this!

"Mom," Grace said, finally coming to my rescue. "Why don't you get us something to drink? I'd like a coke. Katie?"

"Coke is fine."

"Alright," Lily said, smiling. "Why don't you go in the living room, I'll be back with your cokes and then we can talk."

I smiled at her but I felt like dying internally. I couldn't even talk to her for five minutes so I didn't want to imagine what it was gonna be like during dinner.

As soon as Lily disappeared in the kitchen, Grace hit my arm with all the strength she had.

"What the hell are you doing?!" she hissed.

"What?" I asked innocently.

There was no way I was gonna tell her how nervous I was.

"What?" she repeated. "You sounded like a freakin' soap!"

I chuckled. That's where all that shit had come from!

"This isn't funny!" Grace said a little more loudly, hitting my arm one more time just in case I hadn't felt it the first time. "You're not gonna ruin this night, you hear me? This is way too important for you to-"

"Grace, can you come and help me in the kitchen, please?" we heard Lily ask from the kitchen.

"I'm coming!" Grace said before lowering her voice again. "You go in the living room. I'll be right back."

And with that she went to the kitchen and I went to sit in the living room.

I wanted to get the hell out of there. After all, I had no reason to be there. I could just leave and let Grace deal with all that shit on her own. Besides, she talked to me like I was stupid so why was I even supposed to help her? She could have been thankful that I was doing this for her while I could have been at my place or hanging out with that hot girl I had seen in the afternoon. She obviously didn't want me there, so why even stay? I owed her nothing. She could keep her money and find herself another fake girlfriend. Maybe Russel could do it.

I got up from the couch, ready to make my way out of there when I heard the front door open. My heart raced just thinking about the idea of having to face another Manning. Or Sammler. Or whoever else was part of that family. How many were there, anyway? I had lost count when Grace had told me about them.

But the person who appeared in the living room was actually the only other member of the family I knew: Jessie Sammler.

I guess "knew" is a little exaggerated. I mean, everybody knew Jessie, with her being the most popular girl in school and all that, but I didn't really know her. Actually, I had never talked to her until the day before in the bathroom. But oddly enough I had still managed to leave without it. I knew some people in school would have killed just to be acknowledged by Jessie Sammler, what with her big baby blue eyes and her smile that could have stopped all the wars. But then again, I wasn't some people and I didn't give a shit about Jessie Sammler. I didn't know her, but I didn't have to. Just the fact that she was popular was enough for me to stay away from her. And I don't think she minded either. We were not part of the same world, and it was perfect that way. But now here we were, having to be in the same room and actually talk to each other.

"Hi," she said, after recovering from the shock of seeing me.

"Hey," I said, forcing a smile.

Grace had told me that Jessie thought we were together which meant she was one more person I was going to have to lie to and be nice to.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, frowning.

It wasn't mean, like Zoe's tone earlier, just curious. But then again, Jessie was never mean. At least that's what other people said. Of course Grace thought she was the devil incarnated but that was Grace, which meant it was bullshit.

"Your step-mother invited me for dinner," I answered, hoping that she wasn't staying for dinner.

That was already bad enough to have to deal with the mother and the sister. I didn't need the step-sister and God knows who else.

"Oh," she said, before chuckling. "Good luck."

Well that was new. Finally someone nice in this house! Not that I cared if there were nice to me but the situation was already bad as it was, I felt like I needed some support. And it came from the most unexpected person.

"I think it's too late for that," I said, relaxing a little. "I probably already blew it."

"With who?" she asked, fully entering the living room. "Lily?"

I nodded.

"Don't worry," she said, taking off her coat and throwing it on a nearby chair. "I'm sure it's nothing. Lily likes everybody. You should have seen Tad the first time he came over. He spent the whole night explaining the rules of basketball to her. But now she keeps inviting him over."

Yeah, except I wasn't some stupid jock like Tad was.

"My dad was a little harder to convince, though," she added. "But Grace's not his daughter so you should be fine. No, if there's someone you should be worried about, it's Zoe. And Grace."

She smiled at her own joke and I couldn't help but laugh. Finally someone who understood what awful situation I was into!

And who knew Jessie Sammler could be funny? And who knew we could have a conversation as if we weren't at the opposite ends of the school hierarchy?

"What's so funny?" Grace asked when she entered the living room, closely followed by Lily who was holding a tray with three glasses on it.

Before neither of us could answer, Lily spoke up.

"Oh right," she said, putting the tray on the coffee table. "You two already know each other! Isn't that peachy?"

I didn't see how it was 'peachy' but I smiled anyway, just to score some points.

"Jessie, honey, do you want anything to drink?" Lily asked her.

Jessie took a furtive look at Grace before answering, as if asking for her approval.

"No thanks," she answered, walking out the living room. "I've still got some homework to do. Just call me when dinner's ready."

Well, that was weird. It had just lasted a few seconds but there was no need to be genius to notice something was up between Grace and Jessie. What I didn't know was that it was just the tip of the iceberg.

But of course I didn't have time to think about it as Lily asked me to take a seat so the inquisition could begin.


	11. Chapter 11

**Lily's POV**

Remember how I said I was starting to be okay with my daughter being gay? Well, I was wrong. I thought that the hardest would be to get it out from Grace, but as I was listening to Katie rambling about God knows what, I realized that this was all too real for me. Maybe I was ready for having a gay daughter, but I wasn't ready to meet her girlfriend. Once again, I realized I wasn't as cool as I had thought I was. So I just sat there, not knowing what to say to this girl. She seemed nice, although a little odd, but all I could do was nod and fake a smile.

"…because, I mean, the fact that he's older than me doesn't mean he's the boss of me. Besides he's only a year older than me, and I'm taller than him, anyway, I always have been. When we were kids we used to play basketball and I would always beat him. Of course, he would say I cheated, which I didn't. I mean, I cheat at Monopoly, sure, but not basketball. I just don't need to. My dad always wanted me to play in the school's team but that's just not me, you know. I don't really have the team spirit. Besides, it's too boring. Danny's in the school team, of course, which makes him even more pathetic when I kick his ass. He just can't stand to be beaten by a girl. How macho is that? So he doesn't want to play with me anymore."

God, that girl could talk! Even Grace, who had a pretty big mouth of her own, was looking at her like she was on drugs.

"Right," I said, getting up from the couch. "Why don't you girls wait for me in here while I finish making dinner?"

Was it just me or did they seem to be as relieved as I was to have some time off?

I breathed a sigh of relief when I got to the kitchen but it only lasted for a second as the backdoor opened and Judy came in.

"What's going on?" she asked when she saw my face.

"Grace's girlfriend is here," I said indicating the living room.

"Oh, right!" she said, passing her head in the living room.

She kept spying for a few seconds before turning towards me.

"Oh my God they're so cute!" she exclaimed excitedly.

"You totally came here on purpose, didn't you?" I asked, seeing the glitter in her eyes.

"Maybe," she answered, wriggling her eyebrows like she used to do when we were kids.

Judy had always been a hopeless romantic. As long as there were two people in love, she didn't care about the rest. She was still so young.

"She's pretty," she said, taking off her coat and sitting at the counter. "Grace has great tastes."

I just shrugged and kept peeling the potatoes. Of course she was pretty, but saying it would have meant that I was fine with it, which I wasn't.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing," was all I said.

I knew Judy's position on this, and I knew she wouldn't understand. Besides, the last time we had talked about it had ended pretty badly and I didn't want it to happen again.

"You're still not okay with this?" she asked, looking like she found this whole thing rather amusing.

It was comforting in a way. It meant that she trusted me enough to know I would eventually stop freaking out about this.

"No, I just…I need time, okay?"

I had come to using the excuse I hated the most and it was driving me insane. Who was I? And where the cool and liberal person I was had gone to?

Judy's smile faded and she came to stand next to me.

"Look, Lil, I know you don't think I can understand what you're going through, and you're right. I don't have kids and I can't possibly know what it's like finding out one of them is gay. But there's one thing I know, is that Grace is in love. She's always been so angry at everything, and now she has this beautiful girl in her life. And sure, they're both girls and it's not going to be easy for them but they love each other and it's all that matters. Don't you think?"

I could always count on Judy to make me feel guilty.

But as we finished making dinner, I couldn't help but think about her words. All that time I had thought about how Grace's homosexuality was affecting me and all the dreams I'd had for her, but I had never thought about what it must have felt like for Grace. I hadn't thought about how it felt like for a seventeen year old girl to find out that she's gay and having no one to talk to about it. I suddenly started feeling guilty, but most of all, I started feeling an incredible sympathy for Katie. She had been there for Grace when she had been the most vulnerable, and she had helped her going through all this while I was so busy thinking about myself that I didn't even notice that something was going on. I remembered the look on Grace's face when I had told her I knew, how happy and relieved she had been, and I realized that all this was because of Katie. Judy was right, I had forgotten the most important thing - that girl loved my daughter. That was something we had in common.

I decided to get over myself and make an effort to get to know the girl. Grace had seen something in her and I wanted to know what it was.

Everything was easier after that. At least as easy as the situation could be. Of course the dinner wasn't perfect because it never was in this house, but it almost looked normal. What am I saying? Of course it didn't look normal, and it was prefect that way.

"So, Katie, did you and Grace meet at the Gay Straight Alliance?" Judy asked.

Being the gossip girl she was, she had begged me to stay. And being the great sister that I was, I had agreed. Of course I didn't know she was going to ask so many questions.

"Um, no," Katie answered, throwing a glance at Grace. "I'm not part of the GSA."

"Really?" Judy asked, her interest clearly showing. "But I thought with you being-"

"Katie and I are in class together," Grace cut her before she could do any damages. "That's how we met."

But I had almost forgotten that Judy wasn't the only one who could do damages in this house.

"So you're not gay?" Zoe asked Katie out of nowhere.

"Zoe!" I exclaimed, not wanting to deal with this now.

"What?" Zoe asked. "You said that only gay kids are part of this group."

"I did not!" I protested. "All I said was that-"

"It's okay, Mrs Sammler," Katie interrupted, smiling, before turning towards Zoe. "Actually, I am gay."

"Who wants some sauce?" Rick asked, trying to avoid any drama, as usual.

"But you said you're not part of the group," Zoe said, frowning.

"Zoe, shut up," Grace spat.

"Grace!" I exclaimed, wondering what I had done to have children with such big mouths. "And Zoe, stop asking stupid questions."

"That's not stupid!" Zoe protested.

"I'm not," Katie answered, ignoring everyone but Zoe. "But that doesn't mean I have to be part of the GSA. And not everyone in the GSA is gay either."

"Oh," Zoe said, thinking it over before turning towards Grace. "So are _you_ gay or not?"

"Zoe!" I exclaimed for what seemed like the hundredth time.

"What?" Zoe, asked, exasperated.

This was so not how it was supposed to go. We were supposed to have a nice dinner where I could learn to get to know Katie and like her, but instead of that it had become the "Are you gay?" dinner, thanks to Zoe.

"So no one wants some sauce?" Rick asked. "How about some bread?"

I know he meant well, but it only made me even more furious.

"You can't ask people if they are gay or not!" I said to Zoe.

"Why not?"

"Because…Because you just can't! That's not polite!"

"But that's all you've been talking about lately."

"What? No!"

"Yes, it is. And I know Grace is gay because I heard you tell Aunt Judy the other day. And I know you all think I'm too young to know what's going on but I'm not stupid. I also know that Katie is Grace's girlfriend and I don't see why you guys are making such a big deal out of it. Like Mary Agnes said, it's just two people together."

I didn't know if I should have been proud of her for being so smart or mad at her for being such a pain in the ass.

Of course no one knew what to say after that. Rick had left to the kitchen pretending to get something while I knew he just wanted to stay out of the drama, Jessie was pretending to be fascinated by her food, Judy was whipping the water she had just spilled, Katie was trying not to laugh and Grace was trying not to explode.

"So is there anyone in this family you haven't told?" she asked me, looking furious.

"I just told Judy," I answered quickly. "And Rick, of course, but Rick doesn't count."

"Thanks," I heard him say from the kitchen.

"But that's all, I swear."

But that didn't seem good enough for Grace.

"Well, why don't you tell dad now?" she asked. "Or maybe you should just put an ad in the newspaper next time!"

I didn't know what to say. I guess I had no right to tell Judy but she knew Judy. That woman knew everything!

But I was rescued by the most unexpected person.

"Grace, calm down," Katie said, patting Grace's shoulder. "It's not a big deal. You should be happy that they're taking it so well. You should have seen my parents' face when I told them!"

She started laughing until she noticed it was not the best time to laugh.

"Besides," she added. "The whole school already knows about it, so what's the problem?"

"The whole school knows about it?" I asked.

Grace shot a glare in Katie's direction before answering me.

"Yeah," she mumbled, looking back at her food. "News travels fast in this school."

I just looked at her, wondering who knew first and decided to tell everyone. Maybe that Alexa girl.

"Did you know about it, Jessie?" I asked, looking at her.

She hadn't said a word the whole time, which I found slightly suspicious, even though Jessie had never been a big talker.

"Me?" she asked, looking up from her plate for the first time. "Uh…Yeah, I did."

With that she went back to playing with her food.

"Did Grace tell you or did you hear about it from someone else?"

Jessie sighed, probably wondering what she had done to deserve this. But I wanted to know. I knew Grace and Jessie hadn't been the best of friends, but if Grace had told her, then it meant there was still hope for these two.

"Mom-" Grace started in a threatening tone, but she didn't get to finish.

"Look, it doesn't matter who knows," Jessie said to me. "Right now people are talking about it because they have nothing else to do, but next week it will be something else. Besides, it's the 21st century; I think people don't really care who's gay anymore. And I think it's great that Grace and Katie decided to make it public."

I was shocked. And so was everyone else, apparently. Grace and Jessie had never gotten along for no apparent reason. Of course there was the obvious fact that Grace seemed to be madly jealous of Jessie but it had gotten even deeper than that to the point where they didn't even know why they didn't like each other. And now Jessie was defending Grace. What was happening to this family?

I guess I could have been delighted to the fact that my daughter and step-daughter were finally on the same page, except that, for the first time, I didn't agree with Jessie. I had told Rick and Judy that Grace was gay because I knew they were smart enough to support me, I mean Grace, but I wasn't so sure if a bunch of teenagers would react the same way. Teenagers were cruel, and I knew that it wouldn't be easy for Grace. I just hoped Katie would be able to protect her against that. Apparently she had been out for a long time, which meant she was more used to this than Grace was.

"I'm going to get the desert," I said, getting up. "Katie, could you come and help me?"

Everybody stopped what they were doing and looked up at me.

"Why do you need her help?" Grace asked without even trying to hide her worry.

I knew what she thought I was doing. She thought I was going to have The Talk where I would tell Katie that she better take care of my daughter and not break her heart or else I would kill her, but that wasn't what I was planning to do. At least, not in those words.

"Well, Katie told me she was a great cook and I need some help with the icing," I said happily. "Would you mind giving me a hand, Katie?"

All eyes fell on Katie who, if she was nervous, didn't show it one bit.

"Sure," she said, getting up.

I didn't need her help, of course, but I asked her to do the icing anyway so it wouldn't seem too obvious, while I took the dessert plate out of the cupboard.

"So," I started as if nothing. "I hope we didn't scare you away, what with Zoe and all her questions."

If she was like Grace, I had to do this smoothly.

"Nah, it's fine," she chuckled, without looking up from her task. "Zoe's a cool kid. I wish I had a sister like her instead of being stuck with three older brothers."

Of course, being the mother that I was, I couldn't help but feel proud that someone thought my daughter was 'cool'. But I had to stay focused on my task.

"So does that mean we might see you again?" I asked lightly.

I felt her hesitating before shrugging.

"Sure. But I don't want to bother you."

I had to admit she was good. She was charming, polite, funny, even though she talked a lot.

"You're not bothering me," I said, smiling sincerely for the first time that night.

She smiled back at me, the kind of smile that light up all the room, and that's when I realized what Grace saw in her. She was beautiful, and I couldn't help but feel proud that this beautiful girl was my daughter's girlfriend. That was actually the first time that I felt happy about this thing, and it was all thanks to that smile.

"Katie, do your parents know about you and Grace?" I asked suddenly.

Her smile faded right away and I knew I had ruined the mood.

"Oh, uh…no they don't," she said, back to the icing.

"But they know you're-"

"Yeah," she cut me. "They just don't know I'm seeing someone. We don't really talk about things like that."

I felt sorry for her. Having Katie over for dinner was an important thing for Grace, even though she wasn't showing it. And it was probably hard for Katie not to able to do the same.

"How long have they known?" I asked.

"A while. At first they didn't want to see it but I guess walking on me and Tara Brody making out in the basement opened up their eyes."

She chuckled, before realizing what she had just said, and threw me a look to see my reaction.

I just smiled sympathetically.

"I guess it's not always easy, uh?"

"I'll leave," she said, shrugging.

But I could see by the way she was avoiding me eyes that it bothered her. It probably wasn't the best time to have The Talk but I knew that it was now or never.

"You know, all of this is new for me," I said, standing closer to her. "And I'm sure you know it's new for Grace too."

"I know," she said, still not looking up at me.

"I just...I'm her mother and I care about Grace a lot."

"I know."

"And I guess I want to make sure that you care about her a lot too. Some people can be cruel and it's not going to be easy for both of you and I just want to make sure that you'll be there for Grace when things get hard."

Katie finally looked up at me and smirked.

"I think Grace can take care of herself," she said.

She was right. Grace could be terrifying to people who got in her way. But I didn't smile back because I wanted her to know I was serious about this.

"I know, but…Grace seems to really like you and I guess what I'm asking you is not to hurt her or do anything stupid like break her heart, for example."

She smiled brightly at me.

"I can promise you that will never happen!"


	12. Chapter 12

**Jessie's POV**

"God, I can't believe you didn't invite me!" Tad whined for the hundredth time since I had told him about the dinner Lily had thrown for Grace and Katie.

I guess I was too naïve when I thought people would get over it in just a few days. People I didn't even know had come to me, asking me if anything had happened during the weekend, and others had come to say how sorry they were that my stepsister was gay.

But how could I honestly expect people to get over it while it was all I could think about? Sure, at first I had been shocked because not in a million years would I have thought that Grace was gay. Then I was relieved because she had finally decided to be honest and open with me, and now I was…I don't know, excited? Which was weird, because why the hell would I be excited to have a gay step-sister? Maybe I was glad because I saw that as an opportunity to be closer to Grace, because, honestly, the fact that she hated me was killing me. And the fact that she had told me the truth meant that there was still some hope for us to finally get along.

So I was ready to be there for her. People seemed completely obsessed by the fact that her and Katie were an item, that I knew things weren't going to be easy for her. And maybe it was the Mother-Teresa-side of me, but I thought I had to stick up to her.

"I mean, come on!" Tad complained, putting his arm around my shoulders as we were walking in the hallways. "We're partners in crime!"

Partners in crime meant I had to keep count while he would try to eat fifteen donuts in a row.

"Why didn't you invite me?" he pressed, lowering his voice.

He thought that because he was my boyfriend I should have told him everything. If only he knew.

"Because I didn't want you to look at them like you were watching some porn," I answered, rolling my eyes.

He gasped when I said 'porn' and slowed his steps and mine too.

"What?" he asked, pretending to be surprised. "What makes you think I watch porn?"

Again, I rolled my eyes.

"The fact that you're a seventeen year-old boy," I answered easily.

I wasn't mad, really. It would have been stupid of me to think that Tad didn't watch porn, especially since we still hadn't slept together. Everybody thought we were having sex and that we had done it a long time ago, probably because that's why we kept telling our friends, but the truth was that the two times we had tried had ended up being pretty disastrous. So I kept telling him I wasn't ready and he kept telling me he understood while I knew the only reason he was being so patient was because he got some relief from his impressive collection of porn that he thought I didn't know he was hiding under his bed. So it would have been unfair of me to be mad at him for that considering I had been making him wait for five months, which actually meant five years for a teenager.

"Hey!" Tad exclaimed, thrusting out his chest. "I prefer 'seventeen year old man'."

He laughed when he saw I wasn't mad and I couldn't help but laugh along with him. Everybody thought that Tad was just a popular basketball player with a pretty face and nice abs, and at first that was all I had seen too. But as I had gotten to know him, I had realized that he probably was the goofiest person I had ever met. Of course, being as popular as he was, he was trying hard to hide it but his goofiness was what I liked best about him. He was letting me see it when we were just the two of us and I liked that he could trust me enough to be himself. Too bad I couldn't trust him enough to be myself. But then again, I couldn't even trust myself enough to be myself.

Again, I thought about Grace and how she had decided just to be herself without worrying about what other people might think. I couldn't help but envy her, which was weird because, honestly, how being gay was better than being one of the popular kids? Gay kids were always laughed at, or beaten up, or just avoided as if they had some kind of disease. Popular kids were admired, envied, and everybody wanted to be their friends. Sure on the outside, they hated us but it was mostly because they were jealous. Because, honestly, who doesn't want to be popular in high-school? I knew everybody envied me, but now here I was, envying my gay step-sister. What was wrong with me? I had everything I wanted to be happy and all I could think about was how lucky Grace was for not having to pretend anymore. Was I pretending? Well, yes, sure. I mean, everybody pretends, right? I didn't want to be popular; I didn't want people to look up to me, always expecting something exceptional from me. Sometimes I just wanted to be invisible, or to just do things a girl like me wasn't supposed to do. And I was just tired of having to come up with people's expectations. I just couldn't wait for the day to come where I wouldn't have to be so damn perfect all the time anymore. But how was I supposed to make that day come? Maybe Grace knew the answer. Maybe that's why I was so excited about her coming out. Maybe I thought she would help me. Or maybe I was just glad that her being gay would bring us closer. That's a lot of maybe. The only thing I knew for sure was that everything had changed, only I didn't know just how much at the time.

* * *

There are some strict rules in high school, like not to sit in the front row in class if you don't want to be interrogated, or not to wear the same backpack two years in a row. But the most important rule is where you sit at the cafeteria. Who you sit with defines you are and where you stand in the school hierarchy. If you're popular, you have to sit with the popular kids; if your geek, you have to sit at the geeks' table, and so on. Of course it wasn't written in stone, but it was the way it was, and everybody respected those rules. But that day, I broke the rule as I found myself standing in front of Grace's table.

"Hey guys!" I said cheerfully. "Mind if I join you?"

Their reaction was pretty funny. Grace looked at me as if I had grown another head, Katie's jaw almost hit the table, and Russell choked on whatever he had in his mouth.

And that's when this weird thing happened. Suddenly it was like somebody had died or something. Everyone in the cafeteria stopped what they were doing and looked at us. It was like they were expecting a bomb to explode and I got the impression that I was the bomb. Suddenly, I didn't think joining Grace was the best idea and I was about to go sit at my usual table when the sound of a broken glass resonated throughout the cafeteria. Everyone started to cheer like they usually do when someone breaks something, and then it was like we were back to normal. People stopped staring at our table and went back to their lunch, and I could breathe again.

"So, to what do we owe the pleasure of your company?" Grace asked me with that tone that she only used with me. "Don't you think sitting at the losers' table is gonna affect your popularity?"

I couldn't help the hurt look that appeared on my face. I couldn't believe that she still saw me like that after our talk in the bathroom. I was trying to support her for God's sake!

She must have seen it because she immediately looked guilty and opened her mouth to probably apologize but Katie was faster.

"Losers? Speak for yourself, Grace," she huffed, before turning back to me. "Don't pay attention to Grace's low self-esteem. Have a seat."

Of course, no one knew what to say after that. These people weren't my friends and we had absolutely nothing in common. The only thing we had in common was Grace and the Gay-Straight Alliance. I wasn't sure if I even knew Grace anymore, and I had been to the GSA only once and it had been one of the most boring moment of my life. Still, it sounded better than talking about my stepsister, especially when she was sitting just in front of me.

"So, are you guys still going to the GSA meetings?" I asked lightly, pretending that none of this was weird.

"In case you haven't noticed, Mr Dimitri is no longer here," Grace said, trying not to sound too pissed. "Which means the GSA is dead."

"Oh," was all I said, looking down at my food.

Suddenly I realized how hard it must have been on them. I mean, the GSA was probably their only chance of standing out for their rights, or at least the right not to be beaten up after class. And just when Grace had made her spectacular coming out, there was no more GSA. All of this because of that ridiculous rumor about Mr Dimitri and Grace. That was even more ridiculous now that everybody knew the truth about Grace.

"I still don't understand why he's not coming back," I said, frowning. "I mean, now everybody knows for sure that you didn't sleep with him!"

I laughed at that but Grace didn't seem to find the fun in it.

"What?" I asked, not getting why she looked like I had just killed her puppy.

Maybe she was still too upset about the GSA.

"Oh my God, you're so right!" Russell suddenly exclaimed. "Isn't she right, Grace?"

Grace looked at him as if _he _had just killed her puppy before forcing a smile.

"Right," she said, looking back at me. "I couldn't have slept with him…with me being gay and all…and with Katie…Right, Katie?"

We all turned our gazes towards Katie who looked up from her food as if she had just remembered we were there.

"Right!" she exclaimed. "You're gay…and with me...because I'm gay too...and hot...so it's only natural that you-"

"Okay, thank you, Katie," Russell interrupted her.

"You guys are not used to talk about this, are you?" I asked after observing their little game.

"Not really," Grace mumbled.

"I get that," I said sympathetically.

Except I didn't. Tad and I had always been the most popular couple in this school, and we were used to people knowing about us and asking questions about us. So no, I couldn't possibly know what it was like to hide your relationship for weeks or even months.

"How long have you guys been together, anyway?" I asked suddenly.

Grace and Katie shared a look and I could see they were uncomfortable.

"A few weeks," Grace finally answered said.

With that she forced a smile and I smiled back. It was so weird smiling at each other, like it was a dream or something. But I guess things were finally starting to get better between us.

"So, how did it all started, anyway?" I asked after no one had spoken for seven minutes.

I didn't know why I cared so much, but I couldn't help being curious about their relationship. After all, it was the first time I knew a gay couple. But I doubted telling that to Grace would make me score some points.

Again, they looked at each other but they didn't get time to answer as Tad appeared out of nowhere and sat between me and Russell.

"Dude, I swear to God, Big Mama totally has the hots for me," he said, chuckling.

Big Mama was the nickname he had given to the woman served our food at the cafeteria. For some unknown reason, he was convinced she was in love with him, which, honestly, even if it was true, didn't matter one bit.

"Is that why she gave you enough food to feed a whole country?" Katie asked, eyeing his tray.

She was right. His tray was covered with so much food that you couldn't even see it.

"Oh, no," he answered examining his food. "I asked for it. I need strength for the big game this weekend."

He finally looked up from his food to look at the others.

"You guys are coming, right?" he asked them, as if they were our friends and came to the games every weekend.

"You're kidding, right?" Grace retorted.

She probably thought she was too good to go to a basketball game, and I could only agree with her on that one.

"But, guys!" he whined. "This is the most important game of the year!"

"You say that every week," I told him.

"Well, basketball is very important. So you guys better come, 'cause it's gonna be maaaad! Besides, that way you can keep Jessie company. I know how boring she thinks basketball is."

I hated when he did that, when he talked like I wasn't even there and when he thought what was good for me.

But if there was something Tad was good at, it was in working his charms on other people. They had worked on me, after all.

So in the end, they all agreed to go to the game, and for the first time in my life, I couldn't wait for the game to come.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Well, look who's back! Sorry it took me forever to update but my computer broke down with all my stuff in it so it was hard to get back to work after that. Hopefully the next chapter should be up soon, if anyone is still reading this...**

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* * *

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**Russell's POV**

"Tell me how we ended up in this situation again?" I asked, without taking my eyes off the scene in front of us.

Tad was currently being held upside down by his jock friends while drinking from a beer keg.

I would never get straight guys.

"I'm not sure," Katie answered easily. "But I guess that's how kids celebrate victories these days."

I finally took my eyes off Tad to glare at her, knowing she was making fun of me and loving every minute of it.

I was not comfortable with what was going on, so what? I didn't usually go to parties, either because I wasn't invited or simply because I felt too out of place surrounded by so many straight people. Most of the time I would stay until I got sick of watching drunk girls making out with drunk boys. Of course there was that time with Trevor Stewart but that's another story.

"Come on, Russell," Katie said, wrapping her arm around my shoulders. "Loosen up a little. I know it's not really our usual playing field but when there's alcohol involved, you never know what might happen."

With that she wiggled her eyebrows and I couldn't help but smile. Even though I wasn't into girls, it was really hard to resist her sometimes. Of course I hid it by looking back at Tad and his friends.

Sometimes I envied them. Life seemed to be so much easier for them. They didn't have to worry about their sexual orientation or being beaten up after class.

"I thought you hated these kinds of parties," I objected.

"I do," she answered, shrugging. "But we're here now, so we might as well have some fun."

"And how are we supposed to do that?" I asked, looking back her.

"I'm afraid we're gonna have to drink, my friend" she said in a serious voice, shaking her head for dramatic effect.

I was about to tell her to stop treating me like a prude when Grace appeared at my side.

"Okay, do _not_ go to the bathroom," she said with a grimace. "Someone puked all over the place. I had to go in the back yard. That was _not_ fun. I mean, seriously, who doesn't have a light in their backyard?"

I couldn't help but chuckle at that before sharing a look with Katie. Being here was even more unusual for Grace than it was for me, and she had made every effort to let us know since we had arrived at Tad's place.

"I think somebody needs a drink," Katie said, winking at me.

"Who? Me?" Grace asked, actually having the nerve to sound surprised. "I don't need a drink. I'm fine. I'm great. Okay, maybe not great. I mean, I'd rather be somewhere else than here because, frankly…"

"She's gone, Grace" I said, looking at Katie's retreating back.

But Grace ignored me and kept rambling about how she was too good for this party.

Maybe Katie was right. Maybe we needed to find the fun a little or else we would probably die of boredom. Besides, everyone was enjoying themselves, so there was definitely something wrong with us if we weren't having fun. I mean, Grace kept saying how everyone else was stupid and that she was above this all, and sometimes, I thought I was too, but we were obviously the only two people not having fun here. So who were the real freaks, me and Grace or the other forty people in the house? When I pointed that out to Grace, I immediately got the glare that I deserved.

"They're not having fun, Russell," she said with that I-am-smarter-than-you tone that she loved so much. "They're just trying to fit in. Because they're terrified of being different. I bet they'd rather be anywhere but here right now. Why do you think they drink so much?"

I didn't answer because I knew she didn't expect me to, and kept on looking at Tad and his friends.

"I just hope Jessie's okay," she muttered. "I haven't seen her in a while."

I looked at her to see her scanning the room quickly.

Even though she would never admit it, I could see she was worried. Because behind all the attitude and the snarky comments, Grace cared about Jessie. But she probably didn't even realize that.

"Don't worry," I said, smiling at her reassuringly. "I'm sure she's fine."

"I'm not worried," Grace objected quickly as if I had just insulted her. "Just…you know. I don't want to get in trouble because of her. Because if something happens to her, I'm gonna be held responsible."

I didn't say anything, thinking it was probably better to let her live in denial for the time being.

"Okay I couldn't find that girly drink you like," Katie said as she came back with two cups in her hands. "So I got you some vodka and cranberry juice. All the girls love that."

"Katie," Grace sighed, rolling her eyes. "for the hundredth time, I don't need alcohol to enjoy myself!"

"Oh yeah, I can see you're having a crazy night," Katie snickered. "And I was talking to Russell."

With that she handed me one of the cups.

How thoughtful of her.

"Oh," Grace said, sounding a little disappointed. "So you didn't bring me anything?"

"No," Katie answered easily. "I didn't want to get my head ripped off for trying to be nice."

I laughed at that, which earned me a nice shove in the ribs from Grace before she brought her attention back to her fake girlfriend.

"Well, thanks a lot, Katie. You really are a caring girlfriend."

"You just said you didn't want a drink!" Katie exclaimed incredulously.

"I don't want alcohol," Grace corrected. "That doesn't mean I don't want anything to drink."

"Okay," I Katie said cautiously. "Do you want anything to drink?"

"No thank you," Grace answered politely.

Katie opened her mouth before closing it right away, and looked over at me with a helpless look.

I just shrugged. It's not like I knew anything about straight girls.

"You know what?" Katie said, looking back at Grace and shaking her head. "You really should be my girlfriend, because you're a total pain in ass!"

"Oh yeah? Well why don't you find yourself a better girlfriend if I'm such a pain in the ass!"

I couldn't help but chuckle at that.

They were _so_ a couple.

Katie scoffed and was about to come up with a come back when Tad appeared between them, throwing his arms around their shoulders.

"Girls, girls, girls," he slurred as Katie and Grace immediately shoved his arms away. "Is there trouble in paradise? Come on, we won the game! Why don't you guys just kiss and make out. I mean, make up!"

He burst out laughing at his own joke and went to high five me.

I just looked at him with a disgusted face and shook my head.

Of course there were ten idiots behind him ready for his high fives so he went back to them.

I would never get straight guys.

"I'm gonna go get another drink," Katie mumbled before walking away.

"I kinda feel sorry for Jessie right now," I said as I watched Tad and his friends.

"Kinda?" Grace repeated. "I can't believe I had a crush on him!"

"Shhh!" I hushed her, dragging her out of the kitchen. "You don't want to blow your cover!"

Once we were in the living room, she looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

"You're loving this, aren't you?" she asked me.

Of course I was. But what I didn't know was that things were just about to get even better as we got interrupted by a very happy and obviously very drunk Jessie.

"Hey guys!" she exclaimed like we were old buddies. "Cool party, huh?"

She linked her arm to mine, probably not to fall over.

"What are you…How are you…Are you drunk?!" Grace finally managed to ask in the squeakiest voice I had ever heard.

"No," Jessie dismissed her with her hand, still grinning goofily like drunk people usually do.

With that she took a big sip from her cup, which made her stumble, which made her giggle.

I threw a glance at Grace to see how she would react and what I saw actually made me take a step back. She was literally shaking and looked like she was either going to explode or take off into the air.

She grabbed Jessie's cup before she had another chance to take a sip and sniffed it.

"Jesus Christ!" she exclaimed, grimacing. "What the hell are you drinking?"

"I don't know, some guy made it for me," she said, shrugging.

"Oh, so you accept drinks from strangers now. That's very smart, Jessie!"

"I'm not a kid, Grace!" she protested. "You don't have to tell me what to do."

She tried to snatch her drink from Grace's hand but Grace held the cup away from her, making them both look like five-year olds.

"Actually, I do," Grace retorted, trying to put as much distance between Jessie and her cup. "You're my sister and I'm responsible for you. So whatever you do is my business."

I raised an eyebrow at that, but they were both to busy glaring at each other to notice that Grace had used the word 'sister'.

"I can take her of myself," Jessie said between clenched teeth.

"Apparently, you can't. I leave you alone for ten minutes and you're drunk. Hell, I didn't even know you drank!"

"You're not my mom, Grace!" Jessie exclaimed.

"And you're lucky I'm not! Because if she knew about this, you'd be in serious trouble!"

"Ugh," Jessie said, rolling her eyes and looking brattier than Zoe at that moment. "Why don't you just remove that stick up your ass for once and get a life!"

There was a shocked silence after that. And not only from Grace, but from everyone who was within earshot. The music was still playing, but it was like time had frozen. I guess everyone couldn't believe what had just happened.

Jessie didn't curse. At least, I had never heard her curse. And by the look on everyone's faces, nobody had. But I guess she had every right to put Grace in her place for all the times Grace had been a bitch to her. Actually I was surprised this hadn't come sooner. But still, seeing Jessie like that was like…realizing your milk had gone bad…or something like that.

I guess I should have said something, but all I could do was to stare in shock as Jessie stormed away as dramatically as her drunken state allowed her to.

"What the hell is wrong with her?" Grace finally asked, after everyone had gone back to their own business. "I mean, I never thought she'd…She's…Did you see that?"

I didn't answer her question, but I looked over at her.

"Still don't want any booze?" I asked.

"I guess a small drink wouldn't hurt," she answered in a defeated voice, watching as Jessie was pouring herself another drink.

So I went to get Grace a drink, and drink she did. Not a lot. Just enough to forget that the person she thought she knew better than anyone else was not who she pretended to be.

I, for my part, had to be the voice of reason, and decided to stay sober. Besides we needed someone to get us back home because there was no way I was staying at Tad's place.

"I mean, who doesn't bring a drink to their girlfriend?" Grace asked to no one in particular, since no one was listening to her as she was collapsed on the couch. "I'm not high maintenance, but come on! And I'm the pain in the ass? Okay, so I'm a little bossy, what's wrong with that? Sometimes bossy is good. And I don't need Katie Singer, or anyone else for that matter, telling me to 'chill', or 'get a life'…Right?

She had been rambling like that for the last hour and I had stopped listening a while ago, only nodding in approval when she would stop and look at me expectantly.

"And I can be cool! And I can be a good girlfriend, too! A great girlfriend! Just because Katie Singer thinks she's too good for me doesn't mean I'm not good enough for her!"

That caught my attention, but only because it didn't make any sense.

"What?" I asked, furrowing my brows.

Grace sighed and rolled her eyes at me as if she made perfect sense.

"Nevermind, "she said, sitting a little straighter on the couch. "Where the hell is Katie anyway?"

She started scanning the room and I did the same, until I noticed someone else was missing too.

"I have a better a question," I said, indicating the now almost empty living room. "Where's Jessie?"


	14. Chapter 14

**Katie's POV**

I was pissed. I mean, I had every right to be, right? Here I was, helping her when I didn't even have to, and she was treating me like shit! The whole thing depended on me, she should have known better than to piss me off when I could easily ruin her plan in a heartbeat. But I didn't. Because I was an idiot. Actually it's a little bit more complicated than that, and it all started at that stupid party, right after Grace had won the award for the most annoying fake girlfriend of all time.

I had decided to get drunk because, well, there was nothing else to do. I am proud to say that I can hold my alcohol pretty well, probably because I had started drinking at age fourteen, what with having three older brothers and all. But I'm only human, and soon enough I had to use the bathroom. I remembered Grace saying that someone had re-decorated the bathroom with vomit, and there was no way I was going to pee in the backyard. But this was a nice house, and I knew Tad's parents were loaded, so I assumed there were probably five other bathrooms in the house. I went upstairs, and found what I was looking for. For someone clever, Grace was pretty dumb. So anyways, I did my thing, freshened up a little, and just as I opened the door to get out, I bumped into a mass of blonde hair. I didn't get time to know what was going on before I was pushed on the side by a girl who rushed to the toilet to empty the content of her stomach, which apparently had been full of alcohol.

Now, I'm not good with sick people. I'm one of those people who would get sick if they see someone throwing up. So my first instinct was to get the hell out of that bathroom before that girl and I would start a puking contest, but then I realized who the girl was. There was only one girl in Upton Sinclair who had such prefect golden blonde hair.

"Jessie?"

All I got as an answer was some inhuman noise as she barfed even more.

This night was just getting better and better.

I guess I could still have left, run for my life or whatever. But I didn't. Maybe it was because she was my fake girlfriend's stepsister, or maybe it's because I was enjoying a nice buzz. But mostly I think it's because, once again, I was an idiot.

She kept on throwing up and I took a step back, putting some safe distance between us.

I didn't know what to do. I didn't know someone could throw up that much. I was about to either go get some help or pass out when she finally stopped.

She sat on the floor with her back against the bathtub and exhaled the biggest sigh I had ever heard.

"Are you okay?" I asked worriedly.

She looked up at me, noticing me for the time, but didn't say anything. The look she gave me said enough though.

"That was a dumb question," I added quickly. "I just puked your liver, of course you're not okay. Sorry."

She still didn't say anything, just closed her eyes and started breathing as if she was going into labor, and I decided it was now safe to take a step closer.

She was so white! She was naturally pale, kinda like those porcelain dolls, with her skin so smooth and creamy, but there she was almost translucent.

I went to the sink and poured some water in the toothbrush glass that was there before handing it to her.

She grabbed it like she hadn't drunk for days, which was kinda ironic, and chugged it.

"Thanks," she exhaled, handing me back the glass.

I filled it again and gave it back to her.

I had read somewhere that drinking water was the best remedy for a hangover. And since I had no idea what else to do, that's all I did for next ten minutes.

"Feeling better?" I asked after a while.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes before nodding slowly.

Of course she wasn't alright, but at least she had stopped puking.

"You want me to go get Tad?" I asked, not really knowing what to do at that point.

"Tad is probably passed out somewhere by now," she said in a weak voice without opening her eyes.

"Grace?" I offered.

She chuckled, but her face showed that there was absolutely nothing funny about that.

"I'm probably the last person Grace wants to see right now," she said with her eyes still closed.

Of course I had seen their little interaction downstairs, just like everyone else had, and although I had been shocked to see Jessie standing up to Grace like that, that had made me smile a little. I wasn't a big fan of Jessie, mostly because of the whole popular girl thing, but at that point, I didn't like Grace that much either so at least we had something in common.

"Do you want me to…" I started hesitantly, slowly backing away, but stopped when she opened her eyes and looked up at me.

"Can you just…stay with me for a while?" she asked, in a voice so small she sounded like she was just a little girl.

How was I supposed to say no to that? Like I said, I was only human. Humans are weak, especially if Jessie Sammler is looking at them like that with her big baby blue eyes.

"Sure," I said after a few seconds, closing the bathroom door and sliding against it until I was sitting on the floor, facing Jessie.

We just in silence for a while, Jessie trying to breathe normally and keep the remnants of her stomach inside, and me trying to think of something to say.

But I was stuck. Maybe it was the alcohol. Or maybe it was because of her. Either way, she's the one who broke the silence.

"God, I'm never drinking ever again," she groaned, bringing her legs to her body and wrapping her arms around them, before burying her head between her knees.

"That's what people always say," I chuckled. "Until they get drunk again."

"No," she mumbled with her head still trapped between her knees. "I'm never going through that ever again. Tonight was my first time and my last."

I frowned at that.

"You don't drink?"

She finally looked up at me, resting her chin on one of her knees.

"No. Usually I just watch Tad and his friends get drunk until my brother comes to get me."

"Then why did you drink tonight?" I asked, confused. "Was it to piss off Grace? Because it worked!"

"No," she answered, shaking her head. "It wasn't…I just…I don't know."

She looked so tired, I decided to drop it. After all it's not like I cared. But still, there was something about her. Like she was holding a secret that no one knew about. I certainly didn't.

But as I decided to let her off the hook, she kept on going.

"Have you ever…woken up in the morning…and realized you had no idea who you were?" she asked, hugging her legs a little closer to her body.

I looked at her for a while, wondering what the hell was going on.

I few days ago, Jessie Sammler was just some popular Barbie who lived in another dimension than mine, and now here we were, pouring our hearts out in her boyfriend's bathroom. What the hell was that? _One Tree Hill_?

But then I realized something. The fact that she was asking me this was a proof she wasn't just some shallow popular bimbo. And I knew she wasn't playing some game, I could see it in her eyes. That and she was still pretty wasted.

There she was, sitting on that bathroom floor, with her guard down, and I decided to let mine down too.

What the hell, right? I mean, it was just some drunken confessions in a bathroom, no biggie. Maybe we wouldn't even remember it in the morning.

"Only everyday," I answered softly with a small smile.

It was her turn to study me, and I could see that she was going through the same struggle I had just experienced a few seconds ago. And finally, after what felt like an eternity, she smiled back, and let out a small sigh of relief.

And that's how it started.

"How do you deal with it?" she asked, her voice a little stronger.

I shrugged.

"I don't know. You just do. It's high school. If you don't, you're screwed."

Okay so it wasn't the deepest thing I had ever come up with, but that made her think for a while before her eyes met mine again.

"But, you always seem so…detached from everything," she said with a frown. "Like you don't care."

Yep, that was me.

"That's my way of dealing with it," I answered, shrugging again. "You can't let them know you're weak, that you doubt, or else they're gonna eat you alive."

She didn't say anything, only nodded slowly, as if I had just told her about the secret meaning of life.

"What's _your_ way of dealing with it?" I asked her.

She brought her hand to her knee and started scratching at some imaginary stain on her jeans.

"I don't know," she mumbled. "I just…"

She stopped and took a deep breath before speaking again, but this time her voice was so soft that I had to lean forward to hear her.

"I ignore it. I just…pretend that it's not there. I do all those stuff, I talk to all these people, so I don't have to think about it."

I was shocked by her honesty for a while, before asking:

"Does it work?"

Obviously it did, considering she was the most popular girl in school, but if it did really work we wouldn't be having this conversation.

"It did for a while," she answered with a sad smile. "But lately…I don't know…I find it harder and harder to ignore it. That's why I decided to drink tonight. I thought it would help. That it would help me forget that…that everything is so hard. That it's so damn hard, I'm exhausted. I'm exhausted just to get up in the morning. And I'm terrified by anyone finding out that's there's something wrong with me."

I took a moment to watch her, to really watch her. She was almost grey, her makeup was running, and her hair was sticking to her sweaty forehead, and still she was beautiful. She was so naturally beautiful that she made all the other girls look insignificant, even with their makeup and expensive shoes. I had never noticed that before, probably because she was trying so hard to fit in the crowd. But this was her. This was her without the walls up, without the friends, without the boyfriend, without the smile that she was always sporting, and she still was a thousand times more beautiful than any other girl I'd ever seen.

Of course that little realization shocked the hell out of me. I mean, I had always thought Jessie was hot, after all I wasn't blind, but this time it was different. It was so much more than just a lustful thought while passing her in the hallway.

I guess I should have freaked out, because I had always been careful to keep my distance from that kind of girls, but I didn't. If possible, it calmed me down. I felt a warm feeling spread through my body and I realized that there was nowhere else I'd rather be than in that bathroom at that moment. Because right then all I wanted to do was take her in my arms and tell her that there was absolutely nothing wrong with her.

"What changed?" I asked, and the softness of my voice actually surprised me.

She closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the tub.

"I don't know," she breathed out. "But it's driving me crazy. And act crazy. And I end up like this."

She opened her eyes and looked down at herself and shook her head.

I didn't know what to say to that. I definitely didn't expect that. Who knew there was so much struggle going on inside Jessie Sammler's head. If Grace had been there she would have said she knew, being the smart ass that she thought she was.

My thoughts were interrupted when I heard Jessie chuckle.

"You must think I'm crazy," she said.

She forced a smile but I could see she was nervous as hell.

"No," I said easily and paused for a moment before adding. "I actually think you're way more interesting than I thought."

With that I smiled big, that smile that I knew people loved, and that seemed to relax her as she exhaled a small laugh.

If anyone had told me that morning that the day would end up like this, I would have laughed my ass off and tell them to fuck off. And apparently Jessie was thinking the same thing.

"This is so weird," she said, passing her hand through her hair.

"Yeah," was all I could say.

And then it happened. We locked eyes, and it was like I had no air left in my lungs. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't speak, and I couldn't think. They were so blue! But not just any kind of blue. They were icy blue. Just looking at them could give you the chills.

At first I blamed what was happening on the alcohol. But I had never felt like this before. Alcohol makes you dizzy, tired, and sick. It doesn't make you feel like there's fucking fireworks in your stomach.

I knew what was happening, I wasn't stupid. I wasn't the kind of person who lived in denial. After all, if I was, I wouldn't have been out. So I accepted it, knowing there was no way to escape it. Still, I was a little mad that I was now one of the numerous people who had a crush on Jessie Sammler.

What freaked me out was that she seemed to be reading my mind at that moment because she tensed up.

"Shouldn't you go back to your girlfriend?" she asked slowly, still looking me dead in the eyes.

And just like that she broke the spell. Way to mention Grace in a moment like that!

I laughed nervously.

"I don't think Grace would be very happy to see me either," I said, trying to not let out how pissed I still was at Grace.

I was afraid she would start asking questions, like girls like to do when they talk about relationships, but she just laughed softly.

"I don't know how you put up with her," she said, looking at me like I had just climbed the Everest barefoot.

"Yeah, I don't know either," I mumbled, looking down.

She stopped laughing and I looked up at her to see her studying me.

"What?" I asked nervously.

What the hell was wrong with me? I wasn't never nervous. I was cool. Why wasn't I cool?

"Nothing," she said after a while. "It's just…You guys are so different."

No kidding.

I didn't say anything, once again afraid that I would betray myself and Grace's stupid plan, but Jessie kept going.

"She's so…angry all the time. Like she hates everyone and everything around her. And you're so…"

"Yeah?" I asked expectantly.

Again: what the hell? I didn't care what people thought of me. Actually the more people despised me, the funnier it was. But here I was, holding my breath to know what Jessie Sammler thought of me.

"…different," she finished.

Okay that sucked. But what did I expect? She didn't know anything about me, and it's not like I was the friendliest person.

"You and Tad aren't exactly alike either," I said, just because I wasn't very comfortable talking about Grace and I.

Of course they weren't. He was an idiot, and she was…Well, I didn't really know what she was but she was so much more than what she pretended to be, and I found myself wanting to find out who she really was.

She let out a dejected laugh, and looked back down at her hands.

"Actually we're more alike than I thought," she finally said, more to herself than to me.

I had no idea what to say after that, so I didn't say anything. I just kept looking at her, like I was seeing her for the first time, which I really should have stopped doing because it was really starting to get creepy.

Neither of us spoke for the longest time. She was back to scratching her jeans, apparently debating on what to say next.

And of course, when she finally opened her mouth to say what was on her mind, I was pushed forward by the bathroom door as someone tried to open it.

I got up quickly, whipping some imaginary dust off my ass, and turned to see who it was.

"There you are," Russell exclaimed when he saw me. "Grace and I have been looking for you every-"

He stopped when his eyes landed on Jessie, who was still too weak or too drunk to even try to get up.

"Ooooh," he cooed, his eyes sparkling with…well, actually I had no idea why his eyes where suddenly sparkling but I was pretty sure it was not good. "Two for the price of one! I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

I didn't even bother to answer that and just glared at him, just like Grace would have done. But Russell completely ignored me, telling us it was time to go since Grace had promised her mother they would be home by midnight, which meant they were already an hour late.

The ride to the Manning house was possibly the most awkward ride in the whole history of rides. Grace was obviously intoxicated but not enough not to be pissed at me and Jessie, Jessie was probably pissed too but she mostly tried not to throw up all over the back seats, and I was trying to avoid looking at Jessie, and more importantly at the daggers Grace was throwing at me through the rearview mirror. The only one who seemed to be enjoying himself was Russell, who was annoyingly humming a stupid song that was on the radio while driving.

I didn't sleep that night. I just laid in my bed, replaying what had happened over and over in my head, trying to analyze what it meant. Mostly, it meant that everything was even more messed up than the day before. Not because I suddenly had feelings for the most popular girl in Upton Sinclair, but because that girl thought I was dating her stepsister, and so was everyone else, and also because she was very straight and had boyfriend. Yeah, the whole thing was ridiculously messed up. But things were just about to get even worse.


	15. Chapter 15

**Grace's POV**

I couldn't believe a new week was already starting. I still hadn't completely recovered from the weekend and my very first hangover, and here I was, having to pretend for another week. I was seriously getting tired of all this. On the one hand, I just wanted the truth to come out so I wouldn't have to lie to anybody anymore, but on the other hand, I was terrified of what everyone would say once they'd find out I had lied to them. And by everyone I mean my mom and Jessie. My mom would kill me, that's for sure. As for Jessie…God, I didn't even want to think about it. Our relationship was bad enough as it was, there was no way we would ever get along if she found out the truth.

"Grace, sweetie, are you okay?" my mom asked, interrupting my thoughts as I was slowly sipping my coffee in the kitchen.

She didn't even wait for my answer as she kept running everywhere in the house.

Apparently today was the day she was having this big meeting at the radio station. At least that's what I had heard her rambling about the day before. But I had other thoughts on my mind. Too many thoughts. So many thoughts that my brain was seriously threatening to explode, especially this early in the morning.

But these thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the doorbell, followed by mom asking us to go and open the door because she was too busy looking for her right shoe.

"Zoe, get the door!" I yelled from the kitchen.

I heard her protesting and explaining how watching cartoons was more important to her and that I should go and get the door myself. Of course this was followed by an argument until my mom told me to leave Zoe alone and get the door.

I sighed, not at all surprised by that. This was always how it worked. I was always the one who had to get the door, to drive everyone around, or to be nice to others. Zoe was the youngest so she still had the right to act like a brat, and Jessie…well, Jessie could do anything she wanted since she was so perfect.

I cringed, ordering myself not to be jealous this early in the morning, and went to get the door.

"Morning, sunshine!" Katie exclaimed as soon as the door was opened.

I groaned, wondering if there was ever going to be an easy day for me.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, actually surprised to see her there since we were supposed to meet at school.

"I thought I'd come and surprise you. And I brought donuts," she said, holding up the huge pink box in her hands.

And I know it didn't happen very often, but I was speechless.

I was still very aware of how I had behaved towards her at Tad's party, and I still felt pretty bad about it. But now that she was standing in front of me, all smiles and carrying a box full of donuts, I just felt guilty.

I didn't know there was still some guilt left in me after all that had happened during the past few weeks but apparently there was.

"Wow," I finally said, dumbfounded. "You…how...really?"

Katie chuckled and was about to respond when Zoe decided watching cartoons was not important anymore.

"Did I hear donuts?" she asked, trying to push me aside to see who was at the door.

"Yep," Katie answered, still brandishing the box. "Frosted, Boston cream, jelly…brought to you by yours truly!"

"Awesome!" Zoe exclaimed, grabbing the box and going to the kitchen.

Katie winked at me before entering and following Zoe, leaving me in the doorway, still trying to process what was happening.

When I finally recovered from the shock, I couldn't help the small smile that appeared on my lips.

I knew Katie was in no way my girlfriend, but that was probably the sweetest thing anyone had ever done to me, and that made me feel even more guilty. So at the moment, I decided to try and be a better fake girlfriend, even though I had no idea how I was supposed to do that. I didn't even know how to be a girlfriend. But Katie was obviously making every efforts to be a good one so I could at least try.

With that thought in mind, I closed the door and hoped to the kitchen, my smile getting bigger with every step I took. I don't think I had ever smiled that early in the morning, but I guess everyone was right when they said Katie Singer was the charmer.

"Your girlfriend is cool," Zoe told me with her mouth full as I sat next to Katie around the kitchen island.

That's when my mom entered the kitchen in a hurry but with both her shoes on.

"Mom, look what Katie brought!" Zoe exclaimed, spitting half of what was in her mouth in the process.

And for the first time that morning, my mom actually stopped and paid attention to something for more than five seconds, that is after she did a double take on Katie.

I still couldn't believe how cool my mom had been about all this. Although I knew she was probably still freaking out internally, she had been pretty amazing at handling the situation. I think that if all parents reacted the way she had done, there would be less suicidal gay kids in this world.

"Morning Mrs Sammler," Katie said, flashing her famous smile.

She really did have a pretty smile.

My mom was obviously as surprised as I had been to see Katie here as she greeted her, but soon enough her initial shock we replaced by panic as she realized she only had half an hour to drop by my dad's to get Zoe's books, drop Zoe off to school, and go to the radio station. I knew that because that's what she kept on repeating as she ushered Zoe out the back door.

"I think you just scored some high points among the Sammler-Manning family," I said once the car had pulled out of the driveway.

She chuckled around her third donut but didn't say anything. I observed her for a moment, wondering how she managed to still be so skinny.

I suddenly felt very nervous, because I knew what I had to do, and it was something I wasn't very good at. But we were alone, at least until Jessie was in the bathroom, and I knew the occasion wouldn't present itself in while, so I took a big breath and went for it.

"Look, I...I'm sorry," I said, looking down at the counter. "About the way I acted the other night, I mean. And the day before that. And the day before that. Basically I'm sorry for the way I acted since we…started 'dating'."

I closed my eyes, waiting for her to tell me what a bitch I had been, but I looked up when I heard her chuckle again.

"Didn't know 'sorry' was in your vocabulary," she said, raising an eyebrow.

But she was smiling, so I relaxed a little.

"Yeah, well," I said with a small smile on my lips. "It's because I'm right most of the time."

Katie let out a small laugh at that.

"I'm serious, though," I said, after a while. "I shouldn't have been such a bitch to you."

"Don't sweat it," she said, shrugging. "We're cool."

"No, we're not," I objected, frowning. "Look what you just did! You bring me donuts in the morning. How sweet is that?"

"It's really not a big –"

"Yes, it is! Forget what I said the other night, you're a great girlfriend. _I_'m the bad girlfriend. But I guess it's because I don't know how to be one. I mean, it's not like I have a lot of experience in the matter."

Now I was embarrassed. I really should have stuck with an 'I'm sorry', because now Katie was looking at me all confused.

"You mean you never had a boyfriend?" she asked slowly.

I just shook my head, feeling my cheeks becoming red.

Great. I had never told that to anyone, and Katie Singer was the last person I wanted to talk to about that.

I expected her to burst out laughing any second now but all she did was look down at her hands that were now playing with her donut.

"Well, it's not like I have a lot experience either," she mumbled, and it was the first time I saw her being embarrassed.

Now that was something I wasn't expecting.

I had heard a lot of stories about Katie Singer. About how she could turn any straight girl gay, and that she had done that a lot of times in the past. There was even a rumor that she had once dated a famous actress. I didn't know how that was possible considering where we were but still.

"You mean you've never been with a girl?" I asked, without even trying to hide the shock in my voice.

"Oh, I've been with girls alright!" she answered with a smirk. "Just…you know, nothing serious. I mean, it's not like Evanston is famous for its strong gay community."

I didn't say anything for a while, realizing how little I knew about Katie. And once again, how stupid rumors could be.

"Well, for what it's worth, I think you're doing really well," I said, smiling.

She smiled back, and I swear I saw her blush a little.

But I decided not to say anything. That was part of my new plan to be a better girlfriend.

"I was gonna say 'you too' but…" she said, frowning.

"Nah," I finished for her, chuckling.

"Nah," she repeated, laughing a little.

We fell into a comfortable silence after that, actually enjoying the fact that we were finally getting along. That was definitely a weird feeling, but a nice one too. It felt good not to be defensive and bitchy for once.

But the moment didn't last long as Jessie entered the kitchen.

"Grace, have you seen my…" she started, but stopped abruptly when she saw Katie. "Oh. Hi."

"Hey!" Katie exclaimed, getting up quickly. "I brought donuts!"

Jessie frowned at that before glancing over at me. I frowned too, looking at Katie.

"Okay," Jessie said slowly, obviously not knowing what else to say.

And then as if this wasn't weird enough, the weirdest thing happen.

Katie started babbling. And I mean, really babbling. About donuts. She started listing all the different kinds of donuts, how they were made, how they were called in other countries, and other stuff that normal people shouldn't even know.

I looked over at Jessie, just to check if she was just as confused as I was at Katie's attitude, and what I saw almost made my jaw literally hit the floor.

Jessie was smiling. Not an awkward smile because she was uncomfortable and didn't know what else to do, but a real smile, like Katie's babbling was the most adorable thing in the world.

And that's when I got it. All of it. Katie liked Jessie. That's why she had come over that morning. That's why she had brought donuts. And that's why she still couldn't stop talking.

Katie liked Jessie! And Jessie knew about it. And she was enjoying every second of it.

I felt my blood boiling at that thought. That was so her! One more person who was crazy about her, and she was loving it! Like she wasn't happy enough with the other two hundred people already madly in love with her! I wanted to smack her at that moment. But mostly, I wanted to smack Katie, if only to get some sense into her.

"Actually," Jessie said, interrupting my thoughts and Katie's babbling. "I'm not very hungry this morning."

"Oh," was all Katie said, obviously disappointed.

"But thanks," Jessie added quickly.

And with that she flashed that adorable smile of hers that could make anyone melt.

"You're welcome," Katie said softly.

And she smiled too. It was a big smile fest, and I had to restrain myself from puking, or killing them both.

"You wanted to ask me something?" I asked Jessie a little louder than I wanted to.

I had to stop the monstrosity that was happening.

"Mm?" Jessie said, looking at me as if she had just remembered that I was even there. "Oh, right. Have you seen my grey sweater?"

"I think it's in Zoe's room," I answered quickly, mostly because I couldn't wait for her to get out of that kitchen, far away from us.

"Of course," Jessie said, rolling her eyes. "Why did I even ask?"

With that she turned around, but not before flashing another smile at Katie.

I waited until I heard Jessie walk up the stairs, before I turned toward Katie.

She was still smiling like an idiot so I counted until ten before I punched her in the arm. Hard.

"Ow!" she exclaimed, immediately rubbing the sore spot. "What the hell was that for? What happened to 'you're the best girlfriend ever'?"

I actually growled at that.

"You like her!" I hissed, trying to keep my voice as low as my anger allowed me to.

"What?" she exclaimed in a voice that was scarily high. "No!"

"Don't," I threatened, pointing my finger at her. "I'm not an idiot. I have eyes. And that was…You like her!"

"Okay, fine!" Katie sighed, rolling her eyes. "I like her. So what?"

For someone who had just been caught, she was amazingly calm, which made me even madder.

"So what?!," I exclaimed. "So what?! It's Jessie!"

"I know! You don't think I realize how fucked up and unexpected this is? But she's so great, Grace! She's so not who I thought she was!"

With that she got this dreamy look people get when they're in love, and that made me punch her again.

"Exactly!" I said. "She's manipulative! She's trying to seduce you! Just like she's always done with any guy that I liked!"

Katie's smile faded at that and she frowned.

"You like me?" she asked, actually taking a step back!

"No, you idiot! I don't like you! But she thinks I do! And that's why she's giving you the innocent looks and the flirty smiles!"

And the goofy smile was back on.

"She gives me flirty smiles?" she asked.

"Will you get down from your cloud for a second!" I said, slapping her arm one more time. "I'm trying to explain to you that she's only doing that because she thinks we're together. And she can't stand that someone's interested in me and not her for once! But I guess you're too stupid to notice it!"

Once I had finished my rant I started pacing, because I was so mad at that moment that I might have exploded if I didn't do something.

"Wow," Katie said after watching me for a while. "You really have issues."

"Excuse me?" I asked, stopping to glare at her.

How dared she be so calm? How dared she pretend she knew what was going on inside my head?

"You're so jealous of Jessie that you can't even see her for who she really is."

And now she pretended she knew Jessie. How the hell was that even possible?

"Oh, because, you do?" I objected, throwing my arms in the air.

"No," Katie answered calmly. "But at least I don't hate her for no reason."

I scoffed and started pacing again.

"Yeah, that's for sure! Now you're one of them."

"One of them?"

"One of the many, many people who are crazy about her! For once, I had something that she didn't. And she still managed to take that away from me, too."

I had started to calm down then. My anger was slowly starting to be replaced by sadness, because I knew this was always going to be that way. I would meet someone that I liked, and they might actually like me back, until they would meet Jessie. It had been that way with Tad, with Zoe, and even my mom. I knew my mom loved me to death, but I also knew she secretly wanted me to be more like Jessie.

"But…we're not together," Katie said slowly, frowning.

"I know that!" I sighed, stopping in front of her. "But she thinks we are, and now she wants you."

Katie's goofy grin was back at that, of course.

God, was she an idiot? Didn't she realize that the only reason Jessie was showing any interest in her was because she just wanted to steal her away from me?

I realized how unfair it sounded to Katie, like she was some sort of toy or something that I didn't want to share with anyone, but it was what it was. But it wasn't her fault. At least not entirely. It was mostly Jessie's fault. Once again she had used her charms on someone I was supposed to like, and there was nothing Katie could do about it, no one could.

"You really like her?" I asked softly, unable to hide the disappointment in my voice.

Not because I wanted Katie to like me, but simply because, one more time, someone had chosen Jessie over me.

Katie looked down at her feet and thought about it for a moment, and I could tell she wasn't used to feel this way.

"I think so," she finally said, looking up to meet my eyes. "I've never felt this way before so I can't really tell what it is but…When she's around I…I don't know, it's like…I don't know how to be around her."

That made me want to puke. Not because I didn't believe in love, because if I didn't we wouldn't be in this situation in the first place, but because I had no idea how the hell it had even happened. One second Katie was my fake girlfriend, and the next she was crazy about Jessie. And once again I wondered how Jessie did it, to make people fall for her so fast, and without even doing anything.

"I know how you're supposed to be," I said softly, taking a step towards Katie, thinking that it was time to put some sense into her.

"How?" she asked expectantly, as if I had the answers to all her questions.

My soft expression was replaced by a scowl.

"Insanely attentive to me!" I exclaimed, punctuating each word with a slap on her arm.

"Ow!" she exclaimed, trying to get away from me but she was trapped between me and the counter. "Stop doing that! That hurts!"

But I kept on hitting her arm, and this time she hit me back, making us look like five-year olds. And it lasted until I heard Jessie coming down the stairs, and then I did the first thing that came to my mind, and I crashed my lips against Katie's.

I had no idea why I had done that, but now that I think about it, it wasn't because I was trying to pretend Katie was girlfriend. It was just to piss Jessie off. To show her that Katie was mine, even though she really wasn't. God, this was so messed up!

I finally pulled away when I heard Jessie clear her throat and I fought the way to wipe my mouth off as I looked over at her.

"Oops, sorry, Jessie," I said cheerfully. "We just got a little carried away."

"Yeah, I can see that," she said, her eyes briefly drifting towards Katie, who didn't know where to look. "You guys are ready to go?"

"Yep," I answered, grabbing my back that was on one of the stool. "Katie?"

It took her a second to react before she finally turned around.

It was actually funny to see her that embarrassed, especially because it was because of me. But I also felt bad about her, because if her feelings towards Jessie were real, then it meant she was going to have her heart broken.

"Yeah, I'm ready," she said, still avoiding looking at Jessie, who had suddenly found the floor fascinating.

This was going to be a long day.


End file.
